Airports, engagement talk, fears, and Las Vegas
by heysonya
Summary: This is my fanfic, it takes place right after the season 5 season finale. Leyton, of course.! Chapter 16, 17, and 18 NOW UP! COMPLETE!
1. Two tickets to Vegas, who's it gonna be?

So, this is my fanfic for how I think it should go down when the season 5 finale ends. I was soooo angry, but that's just because I hate season finales. Ha-ha. So here it goes. As always, leave me some feedback letting me know how I did. Constructive criticism people!

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own one tree hill any of the characters, not even CMM, sigh

* * *

**"Hey**, it's me. I'm at the airport with two tickets to Vegas. Do you want to get married?" Lucas said from one end of the line.

Lindsey sat in her car while her driver drove her back to New York City. She picked up her phone and said, "Hello?", not really expecting a call tonight from the doctor…

Brooke picked up her phone from the couch, exactly where Luke had left her. She hurriedly said, "Hello?" hoping it was the adoption agency, letting her know that Angie had arrived home safely…

Peyton picked up her phone as she sat in her recording studio with Haley in the recording booth, recording a song for the first time in who knows how long. She said "Hello?" expecting it to be Mia letting her know who the guy was that supposedly knew Ellie…

One of these girls was in for the shock of their life.

Lindsey sat and said, "Hello?"

"Hello, Miss Strauss? It's your doctor's office. We have some news for you. We think you might be pregnant."

Lindsey sat there for a minute, and then she said, "Yes. I figured. I'd like to make a doctor's appointment in the near future to make sure, but not right now."

"Okay, just give us a call."

"Okay, thank you. Yep. Buh-bye."

Brooke answered her phone, and thankfully, got a reassurance that Angie had gotten home safely. She was also told that If she would like, because the parents were so grateful for her help, she could come visit Angie in the near future. "Yes, I'd love that. Tell Angie hi for me. Bye."

Peyton answered the phone; busy trying to help Haley record her song, she distractedly said, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. I'm at the airport with two tickets to Vegas. Do you want to get married?"

Peyton sat there, stunned. Her whole life, or for at least three years, she had waited for Lucas to say this. Finally it was here, and she wasn't sure what to do.

Haley came rushing out when she noticed Peyton on the phone and all the blood drained form her face. "Peyt, what's wrong?"

Finally, Peyton snapped back to reality. She answered Lucas with a simple, "I'll be there in a half hour, tops." She hung up and said to Haley, "It was Luke. He's at the airport and he has two tickets to Vegas. He asked me to come with him. And I'm going."

Haley's mouth dropped open. "_What?!_"

Finally, Peyton smiled bigger than she had in three years and said, "Hales, I know it doesn't make much sense right now, but, he doesn't hate me. He… he… I can't explain. But, I have thirty minutes to go home, pack, and meet him at the airport, and I'm not going to screw things up this time."

Haley finally spoke up and said, "Peyton, you can't just leave. What about me? Mia? _My album?!"_

"Haley, I won't be gone for over a month, if that. I just… I need to do this. Please. When I get back, we'll do the album, of course. And you can handle Mia. You've been through it before, the touring, 

so you'd be the first to come to when she has problems. It'll be like I never left. Now, I have to go. I'll call you when the plane lands. Unless… you want to drive me to the airport?"

Haley quickly nodded."Yes, I do. I need to talk to Lucas. Come on; let's go before I change my mind."

Luke sat waiting for Peyton to get there. He wasn't sure what to feel. He was feeling a little nervous, but he was also a little excited. Finally he spotted Peyton and… Haley. _Haley._ He growled to himself. He waved to Peyton and when she saw him she came rushing over to him. "Peyton…" he trailed off.

"Hmm…?" she said into his chest, because as she was giving him a hug, she dug her head into Luke's chest to smell that oh so familiar yet foreign smell of his cologne.

"What is Haley doing here?"

"Lucas Eugene Scott! Talk, over here, NOW!" she Haley at him.

Luke rolled his eyes playfully and came over to her and said, "Yes, your heiness?"

She smacked him on the back of the head and said, "Don't give me that!"

Luke rubbed the back of his head and said, "Hales, stop for a minute and let me tell you-"

"No, you big moron! I know I told you-"

"Exactly, Hales, you told me to finally stop hiding my feelings. So here I am, not hiding my feelings. And yet, here you are, hitting me for doing what you told me to do! I'm getting mixed signals here, Hales, so please, help me out!" Luke yelled at her.

Haley shook her head in disbelief. "Luke, just… don't hurt her again. Okay? That's all I'm going to say. Plus, what are you going to do? Get married? I don't think so, Lucas Scott."

Luke just shrugged. "I don't know, Hales. But, me and Peyton? We aren't over yet. So, I refuse to just quit. I'm not hiding it anymore Hales. Please, let me do this?"

Haley shook her head. "Fine, Lucas. Do what you need to do. But, get you and Peyton back in one piece, ok?"

Luke smiled and nodded. "I got it. Now, I have to go before Peyton and I miss our flight. One of us will call when we get there, promise," Luke said with a wink. He turned on his heel and walked toward Peyton. "Are you ready to go?" He asked her.

Peyton just nodded and then after a minute or two said, "Let's do this before one of us changes our mind," she said with a smirk.

And then, the two were off, not really sure what was awaiting them, but sure as hell ready to find out.


	2. Just one more plane ride and it's done

**So, thanks to you guys who reviewed, you guys rock! This is the plane ride. It's a little redundant, but I thought Luke and Peyton needed to figure this out for themselves befroe anything else could happen. I'll try and update again, really soon. Keep reviewing, they keep my updating!**

:)

"_Last boarding call for Flight 224 to Las Vegas, Nevada."_

Lucas grabbed Peyton's hand and said, "This is it. No turning back. Are you ready?"

Peyton just nodded, so overjoyed she couldn't speak. They leaped up and ran for their gate. They got there the final minutes before the flight attendant closed the gate off. She smiled at them and nodded, signaling they could go.

Luckily, Lucas had brought two tickets together, so he and Peyton would sit together. "Let's play a game." Luke said when their plane was ready for lift off. Peyton looked over at him with a questioning look on her face. "Like, I tell you a secret, you tell me one. Fair?"

"Ok, you start." Peyton smirked.

Luke laughed a good natured, whole hearted laugh. God it was good to hear him laugh again, Peyton thought. "Okay. I'm scared." Luke confessed.

"Of what?"

"Everything. Life, love, rejection, letting my guard down… you name it, I'm probably afraid of it. I just… I have trouble expressing my feelings, you know?" Luke asked her.

Peyton nodded and covered Luke's hand with her own. "God do I ever. Luke-"

"Your turn!" Luke jumped in before she could continue.

Peyton smiled a sympathetic smile at him. "Okay. Well, everyday I think about what would have happened if you hadn't saved me in the library that day."

Luke's mouth dropped open, amazed she had just said that."Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, Luke. What if I had died and Keith had lived? How would people's lives have changed?"

Luke grabbed her hand and squeezed. "My life would have changed completely. I wouldn't be here now. I wouldn't be with an amazing girl. Yes, Keith would still be here, but honestly Peyton, don't 

you believe things happen for a reason?" Peyton looked skeptical and Lucas said, "Well, I do. I wouldn't change anything for the world, unless I could have both you and Keith here, and I'm pretty sure that's how he'd want it too." Lucas smiled.

Peyton wiped a tear that had slipped out away. "Wow, I didn't think I'd be crying 20 minutes into the flight," she joked.

Luke smiled and then got very serious and said, "Okay, my turn. I need to talk to you about something Peyton. "

Peyton looked at him skeptically, but said, "Okay…"

"The engagement."

"Oh," Peyton said. "Which one?"

Lucas pushed her shoulder and said, "You know I meant ours. Well, I guess I should have said the almost-but-no-cigar-engagement, huh?" Luke said a little indifferently.

"Oh, yeah. Well, what do you want to-"

"Why did you say no, Peyton? What happened?"

"I never said no, Lucas!" Peyton said, slightly too loud, because she got several "Shh's" and a few odd looks, so she lowered her voice. "I never said 'no', Luke, you just wouldn't wait for me. Every night I dream about that night in that hotel, and every time I dream I say yes, every time, Lucas, every damn time."

Luke looked at her with the hardest stare he had ever given her. "Then why didn't you?"

Peyton threw her hands up into the air. "God, Luke, I don't know. It wouldn't be because I _wanted_ your book to get published _first_, or that I wanted us to wait, just one year, so _I_ could accomplish my dreams. I didn't want to get married and then put our dreams aside, Luke! I just didn't want to do that. We each had too much going for ourselves, and I didn't want marriage to ruin it!" Peyton paused 

and shook her head, then continued. "Luke, I didn't want you to regret it. Because if we did put our dreams aside; I didn't want you to hate me for it, or vice versa."

Now Luke shook his head. "Peyton, did you really think I'd regret marrying you?"

"Luke, you're the one who said that you were afraid to let your guard down or to get rejected. Yeah, well guess what? I am too. I didn't want you to regret marrying me when all I wanted to do was say 'Marry me! Marry me! Marry me!' whenever I saw you! I didn't want you to change your mind half way though our engagement, because I just… I loved you way too much. If that were to ever happen, I don't know Luke. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't in my life. Those three years killed me when I couldn't talk to you or see you. And then, when I finally saw you when I went to that stupid book signing, you were with Lindsey, and my heart slowly broke. So I just left, and never talked to you again, until three years after our little 'engagement'," Peyton finished and blew out a big sigh. "So, long story short? I was _scared_, Lucas, weren't you?"

"You don't think I was scared? Of course I was scared! Everyday I was with you, I was scared, because I was falling in love Peyton, and falling in love is scary."

Peyton sat there and stared out the window, watching as the plane flew over the big white puffy clouds. "Lucas, I just don't know why it was so important to get married, right then and there. Couldn't we have waited? Couldn't _you_ have waited?"

Luke sat there for a minute. "I don't know Peyton. I guess even though I loved you and was completely in love with you, I was afraid. I know I said this already but hear me out. I was afraid you'd meet someone better out there in LA. I was afraid that if we didn't get to see each other every day, we might fall out of love. So, I did the only thing that would assure me we would never "fall out" of love. I asked you to marry me, thinking that if you said yes, I would get reassured we were truly forever; but you said no, so my feelings shattered and I just assumed you didn't really want to be with me, so I left." Luke paused to look over at Peyton. She had an extremely shocked look on her face. "So?" he asked her.

"I can't believe all these years and you never told me that. Luke, why didn't you tell me that's how you felt?" Peyton asked, a little hurt he never shared this with her.

"And now we're back to my fears…" he trailed off.

"Oh. Okay, it makes sense, but Luke. I didn't say no because I didn't love you. I said no because I didn't want you to regret it, like I said."

Luke nodded. "Yeah, I know that now. I just wish when I asked you, I wasn't a stupid 19 year old." Luke smiled a little bit and chuckled.

Then Peyton smiled and yawned. "Wow, I didn't realize how tired I was," she said with another yawn.

"Rest, sleep even, I can wake you up when we get to Vegas."

So Peyton nodded and leaned her head back and closed her eyes. But, somewhere along the ride, Peyton's head fell onto Luke's shoulder and he was the happiest he'd been in quite a while.


	3. Pregnancy Tests and Adoption Agencies

**So, this is a chapter all about Lindsey and Brooke. I mean, they aren't my main focus points, but I had to put them in, at least one chapter. I couldn't leave you hanging on the whole is Lindsey preggers or is she not? I also wanted to add to Brooke's story with the adoption agency. I mean, she deserves a little more happiness than she got in the season finale, don't you think?**

**Well, I do, so here it is. As always, read and review please! **

Lindsey got out of her car and thanked her driver for taking her home in such a short amount of time. She walked up to the doors of her apartment and put the key in the lock, turned it and opened the door to her familiar life; her life with no complications, no Lucas Scott, and definitely no Peyton Sawyer.

She heaved a sigh of relief when she finally got home, but her mind kept flashing back to the voicemail she left Lucas. She told him she wasn't seeing anyone, and in reality, she wasn't. But, at one point after their "breakup", she had been.

His name was Mike. He was her dad's best friend's boy. He was 26, while Lindsey was 24. He and Lindsey had always been friends, but when she had gotten home from her recklessly abandoning Luke at the alter; he was there to comfort her. They drank a little too much and one thing ended up leading to another. He and Lindsey had slept together, but then they both agreed to go separate ways. He was there to comfort her, but she couldn't take anything else so quickly after her non-marriage. So they agreed to part on good terms, which was quite a feet for a girl who was having problems anyways.

Now, she was starting to feel sick in the morning and she was missing her period. She was very scared something terribly, _terribly_ wrong had happened, with either Lucas or Mike. And yet, with everything else going wrong in her life, it wouldn't surprise her.

Lindsey walked over to the telephone, and even though it was 2 in the morning, she called her doctor's office and left a message saying she would like to make an appointment for the following day, if possible. She hung up, and then walked to her bed, where she collapsed in exhaustion, and had the best sleep she had in weeks.

The Next morning, Lindsey got up and prepped herself before calling Lucas or Mike. She had to call them both because, she _had _slept with both guys, and unfortunately, couldn't remember when she last has her period.

So, she called Lucas first. There was no answer. _Great, he's ignoring me during one of the most important times in my life,_ she thought. So, she left a message. "Hi, Lucas. Uhm, I know this is a little awkward and I'm probably one of the last people you want to talk to but, uh…" She trailed off. She didn't know how to put this, so instead she just blurted out, "Well, I might be pregnant. I don't know for sure yet, and I don't even know if it's yours, which I'' explain later, but please, call me when you get this. Okay, bye," She ended the message and hung up.

Then, she called Mike. He, fortunately or unfortunately, Lindsey wasn't sure yet, picked up. "Hi, Mike. Uh, I don't really know how to tell you this, but, here goes nothing. Well, I might be pregnant, and unfortunately, I don't know if it's yours or Luke's."

There was a long pause and then Mike said, "Okay, well, as soon as you find out for sure let me know. I'm here for you Lindsey, no matter what," he assured her. She thanked him and told him she would let him know ASAP, and then hung up.

Once she had called both the guys, Lindsey got in the shower. She got dressed and walked to the nearest pharmacy. She confidently trooped in and grabbed several different pregnancy tests. She walked up to the register, payed, and then walked, almost jogged, home to test out her recent purchases. Once she arrived home, she ran into the kitchen, drank several bottles of water (after all, she 

did buy seven pregnancy tests, and she was going to need a lot of pee), and once she felt the urge to "go" she ran into the bathroom with one of her tests and tried it out.

Waiting was the worst part. She sat on the floor in her bathroom and anxiously shook the pregnancy test, waiting to _not_ see that stupid little pink plus sign. She prayed to God, she even bargained with him, that if she wasn't pregnant, she would never do anything "sinful" again.

When the allotted time was up, Lindsey sat on the floor staring at the ceiling. She dared herself to look at the test, but she was too scared. "Okay. If this is positive, it will either be Lucas' baby, or Mike's baby. Which would be worse?" _Luke._ She silently thought to herself.

She flipped the test over and looked at it.

And there she saw a stupid pink…

Negative sign.

"Yes!" Lindsey jumped up into the air with so much joy in her, she could hardly contain herself. "I'm not pregnant! I'm NOT PREGNANT!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. Well, almost. I mean, she _did_ have neighbors, and would rather they not know her entire personal life.

Brooke was so excited that Angie's parents said she could come visit whenever she wanted. But, she was also sad. She didn't want to just _visit _Angie; she wanted ababy to call her own. Then, almost like the adoption agency read her mind, they called Brooke back.

"Brooke? This is Linda, form the adoption agency. We would like to know if you were up for adoption. We realize the whole situation with Angie must have been hard, so we understand if-"

"Wait a minute," Brooke said, slightly amazed this was happening. "You want me, the one who was told she would _not_ be a mother, to adopt? Why, what could have changed your minds so fast?"

And in one word Linda said, "Angie. You were great with her, Brooke. You treated her as if she was your own, and that's what we needed to see to see if you were ready for a baby. We see that you obviously are ready, and we want to know if you're up to it."

Brooke thought about it for a minute and then said, "What's his or hers name?"

Linda smiled on the other end of the phone and replied, "It's a she, and her name is Lily."

Brooke just smiled. "I would _absolutely love_ to adopt. When can I come and sign the papers?"

And with that, Lindsey wasn't pregnant, and Brooke was going to be a mother.

Who would have thought it?

**Ok, so I realize this is a little rushed, but I just needed to get this out, so I could continue the fun with Luke and Peyton. (Giant mischievous grin) So, review if you want, and I'll try and get another chapter all about Leyton up soon. It's the weekend, so I should have time to start writing a new chapter. I'll try. Once again, thanks to all my reviewers and story favoriters/author favoriters and story alerters. You guys just are rock stars.**

**-xoxo Sonya**


	4. Early morning runs

**Ok, so again, sorry about last chapter. It was kind of suckish, but I had to get Lindsey out of the story so you guys didn't think she was preggers ("PLEASE don't make Lindsey pregnant!""Why with the Lindsey pregnancy scare, why dangit why?" ha-ha you guys rock)**

**But, now we're back with Leyton, so we'll see how things go.**

**Read and review, which I know you guys'll do, cause you're, as mentioned before, rock stars. ;D**

**Oh yeah, and the lyrics below, I meant to put with two chapters ago, but I forgot. I mean, how perfect are they? Ha-ha, anyways, now on to the story…**

_I've got my things; I'm good to go,_

_You met me at the terminal,_

_Just one more plane ride and it's done._

_--Bruised, Jack's Mannequin_

Lucas woke up from his deep sleep. He looked to his left and saw Peyton. _God, am I ever lucky or what?_ He thought to himself. He was in Las Vegas, the place to be when you were over 21, and he was with one of the most amazing girls ever, which just plain rocked. He watched her sleep for a while and then she woke up. Peyton blinked her eyes and saw Lucas staring back at her. She instantly smiled, just because she was happy to be there.

"Good morning sleepy head," Lucas said to her. Peyton just kept smiling.

Then, she said "So, Mr. Scott, what are we going to do on our first day in Vegas?"

Lucas shrugged. "No clue, but isn't that the fun part?" he smirked. "Actually, I'm going to go for a quick run."

"Mmm…" Peyton said, "I love my boys when they are sweaty." She smiled at him mischievously.

"Yeah, you just love _me_." Luke said cockily.

Peyton nodded and said, "Yeah, actually, I do." Then she blushed because she was slightly embarrassed.

Luke smacked her playfully on the shoulder then said, "You freak. You're embarrassed!"

Peyton dramatically rolled her eyes and said, "I'm the freak? I'm not the one in Vegas with an outrageously good looking girl and wanting to go for a _run_. No, Mr. Scott, you are the freak."

Suddenly, Lucas pounced onto her. He pinned her arms down and lay on top of her. This caused her to become flushed and completely out of breath, because, besides sleeping next to him and doing absolutely _nothing_, she had never been this close to Luke, at least not in a long,_ long_ time. "Wow," Luke commented, "the infamous Peyton Sawyer is speechless." He then gave her a warm smile and kissed her. "Now, Ms. Sawyer, I must go on that aforementioned run, because, as you said, you like your men _sweaty_." He said with a wink. "Why don't you go and get cleaned up and then when I come back we can decide what we want to do. Sound like a plan?"

Peyton nodded. "Sounds amazing Luke." Before Luke could leave the room and go for his run, Peyton added, "Hey, Luke?"

He looked up at her and said, "Hmm?"

She just responded with a simple, "I've never been as happy as I am right now."

Luke just gave her a big smile and nodded in complete and total agreement.

Luke ran down the Vegas strip just thinking about everything, but all of a sudden, he started thinking about Lindsey. _Why can't I get her out of my head? I'm with Peyton and we're actually doing _well_ right now._ He shook his head as if to shake the thoughts out of his head and kept running. He only had a little farther until he was back at the hotel Peyton and him were staying at. He pushed himself harder and harder until he was back at the hotel, completely flushed and out of breathe, but he had cleared his mind, and that's what Lucas wanted.

Peyton was standing in the shower, thinking everything that had happened in the last 48 hours over. Like, first Lucas told her he hated her, which she still didn't understand. _Hmm… Maybe I'll ask him why he said that and why he was passed out at the bar that night when he gets back _Peyton thought. 

But then, he wants to run away with her to Vegas? _Weird boy_, she thought to herself, _but I can't help but love him. _She finished up in the shower, got out and got dressed in a pair of distressed jeans and a black tank top that advertised some concert event or another.

Once Peyton got dressed, she was standing in the bathroom brushing her hair when Luke came in. He walked up behind her and wrapped his sweaty self around her. "Hey, you." He smiled and murmured into her ear.

Peyton smiled. "Hey right back. So, what are we going to do today? Just drive around?"

Luke shrugged "I don't really care, as long as I'm with you doing it."

Peyton laughed at the double meaning Lucas had just put in his words, obviously not knowing he had done so, but when he realized it, he blushed and rolled his eyes at Peyton. "_Very_ mature, Peyton."But then he smiled at her, and she smiled right back.

"Okay, get in the shower, smelly. Then, we can just drive around. We have a little bit to catch up on. And a little bit to talk about, don't you think?"

Luke's smile quickly disappeared when he realized Peyton wanted to turn their fun bantering conversations into stupid serious ones. "Ok… but do we have to?" but then Luke grimaced when he realized how much of a two year old he was sounding like.

"You know we do." Peyton said, a little sad herself that they were going to have to go down one of those paths again, worried of how it might end.

But, Luke nodded, not wanting Peyton to be upset. "Ok. I'll be out in a few," Luke said and went to jump in the shower.

While Peyton waited for Lucas, she thought of what she wanted to talk about. _Lindsey. Their engagement. Him telling her he hated her. What happened that night that he had to go to TRIC and get so unbelievably drunk that Peyton had to bring him home in the first place?_

While Peyton was thinking, Lucas was too. _Okay, we need to talk,_ He thought, _but about what? Well, why did Peyton come home? What did Peyton do for me at TRIC that night? And I need to tell her about Lindsey and why I happened to say I hate you to her. Oh, God, this is going to be a tense conversation._

Fantastic, that's just what Lucas wanted.

Luke came out of the bathroom with an idea of where he wanted to take Peyton. He put on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt and a white button up short sleeved shirt on over it. He slipped on a chain with the ring that was meant for Peyton so many years ago, hoping it might give him a little luck today and also give him something to fidget with if he needed it. It was funny, Luke had never been so nervous about talking to a girl. But Peyton had that kind of affect on him, and he sort of liked it. He liked that butterfly feeling he got whenever he saw her. Or that nervous excited feeling he got when he saw her smile that original Peyton smile only she could pull off.

He walked over to Peyton, who was lying down on the hotel bed and said, "You ready, pretty girl?"

Peyton looked up at him and said, "Where are we going?"

Lucas just smiled and said, "You'll see," with a mischievous smile.

**So, what did you think? I hope you guys like it so far.**

**But, I need a few ideas of where Luke should bring Peyton. In the beginning, I was thinking somewhere like the beach to take a nice walk down memory lane. But, then I realized I put them in Vegas and well, Vegas is a little far from the beach, isn't it? So, ideas that would remind Peyton and Luke of a special time when they were together would be AMAZING! Do you think I should still do the beach, or somewhere different? Let me know!**

**Keep reviewing like the rock stars that you are!**

**xoxo-Sonya**


	5. Tense Calls and Growing Up

**So, thanks to everyone who reviewed and gave me ideas about where Lucas and Peyton could go. But, a special thanks to ****lovely35**** for the idea of the Hoover Dam. **

**One of my rock star reviewers wondered if Lucas got either of Lindsey's messages.**

**Well, that's why I put it in that chapter, because I had a plan.**

**Do not fear. **

**This is going to be a longer chapter, because I have a lot to write about!**

**So here it goes. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! D**

Lucas and Peyton sat in a rental car that they picked up before they left the Vegas airport. It was a nice, small, red convertible, so they had the top down and Peyton's hair was whipping through the wind. She raised her arms in the air and yelled, "This is AWESOME!" then looked over at Lucas and smiled.

"Yeah, I thought you'd enjoy this," he said and smiled back at her.

All of a sudden, Peyton reached for the button that would put the convertibles top up, and clicked it. Luke looked at her and said, "Why'd you do that?" with a questioning look on his face.

"We need to talk and I didn't think we'd have a very successful conversation if we had the top down."

Luke's stomach dropped. _Oh, she wasn't kidding about the 'we need to talk thing', was she?_ He thought to himself. "Okay… but I'm not going to lie, I'm a little nervous about this."

Peyton nodded and thought to herself, _Yeah, no kidding._

All of a sudden, Lucas remembered he hadn't had his phone on for two days, so as a stalling tactic he said to Peyton, "Hey, before we have this little talk, turn my phone on for me, will you?"

She nodded and reached for his phone that was in the cup holder. "Hey, you have two new voicemails, Luke. Way to be responsible," Peyton joked with him and winked. "Want me to check them for you, so you don't kill us?"

Lucas knew Peyton had a thing about using a cell phone while driving, so he let her check his messages.

She was quiet while she listened. The volume on the phone was turned up so high, he could hear the automated voice say, "To delete message press one…" and so on. Peyton was still quiet and hadn't responded. Luke looked over at her and realized she had a shocked expression on her face. "Peyton?" he said, worried that she still hadn't said anything. "Peyton? Is everything okay?"

Peyton looked over at him, finally, and said, "Lucas. She… Lindsey… Oh wow."

"Peyton you're scaring me." Lucas said, really scared now.

Peyton took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and said, "Wait a second," then she clicked a button to listen to the next message. After a minute or two, Peyton broke down. She started crying and couldn't control herself. "Peyton? Peyton! Peyton, talk to me!"

When she wouldn't say anything, Lucas pulled over at the next rest stop he could find and he pulled Peyton close. After she cried for a few minutes, Lucas took her quietness as an opportunity to ask her, "Peyton, you need to tell me what those messages said."

Peyton took a deep breath and said, "Luke, Lindsey called, twice. Both messages were from her. She… well, she got your dedication, for one. Oh, yeah, she misses you too, everyday. Let's see, what else? Oh yeah, she might be pregnant and you could be the daddy. Congratu-freaking-lations!" Peyton finished, now angry; with herself, because she thought things with Lindsey were over, with Lucas, because she thought this wouldn't be complicated and in general, just angry.

Lucas's eyes got as big as saucers when she told him Lindsey might be pregnant. "She- she- what?"

* * *

**Okay, so, to be cruel, I thought about ending the chapter here. I mean, chapters usually end wiht giant cliffhangers, right? But, I changed my mind. thank me later. Just kidding! And now we continue...**

* * *

"Before we continue this lovely conversation, can we go to wherever you're taking me? I'm starting to feel a tad bit claustrophobic."

Luke nodded, because he was afraid to talk anymore about what Peyton had just informed him of.

He got out of the rest stop and continued to the Hoover Dam, where he was taking Peyton. It took them around a half an hour to get there, so Peyton had time to cool off. They didn't say a word to each other the whole drive.

Once they arrived at the Hoover Dam, both of them got out of the car. Lucas didn't know where to go, but Peyton just sat down on the car's hood. So, on instinct, Lucas did too.

Lucas spoke up first. "Look, Peyton-" but he was cut off by Peyton.

"Okay, look Lucas. Call her. You obviously have some stuff to sort out. I'm not going anywhere until you do, and I'm not going to talk to you until you do. So, call her. Now," Peyton demanded.

Lucas sighed. He was relieved that Peyton was making him call Lindsey, but he was nervous. He dialed Lindsey's number and she answered on the second ring. "Lucas!" she exclaimed. "I didn't think you were going to call me back," she admitted shyly.

"Why wouldn't I?" Lucas asked as he walked away from the little convertible where Peyton sat. He turned around and saw she was staring off into the distance, a thoughtful expression on her face that made Lucas smile.

"Well, I don't know. So, I guess first thing's first."

"Yeah. You're pregnant?!" Lucas exclaimed.

On the other end of the line, Lindsey shook her head. "No, Lucas, I'm not pregnant. I'm sorry for the scare. But, I found out this morning. I didn't want to bug you, but I… well, I just didn't know what to do."

Lucas nodded his head at this. "Okay, I get that. But, one question, how was it that you said I might be the father? What other option for the father would there be?" Lucas questioned.

"Oh. Didn't you listen to the message?" Lindsey asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Well, yes, but… it's a long story."

"I've got time, Luke. Did you or did you not listen to the message?" Lindsey asked, obviously not letting him off the hook.

"Yes, but I didn't. Peyton did, and told me what it said. She just said I may or may not be the father. I'd rather not get into the gory details with you Lindsey, but can you just tell me who the other candidate was?"

Lindsey sighed and then told Luke the whole story. "I'm sorry Lucas."

Lucas, surprisingly though, didn't feel mad or even a tad bit upset, and that's when he realized he was over Lindsey. _They_ were over. "Lindsey, I'm sorry too. Not about you sleeping with another guy, but about me not being more honest with you. I… I guess I'm trying to tell you that we are over. I can see that now, and I'm sorry I didn't realize this sooner."

A little piece of Lindsey broke inside, but only a very small piece. She smiled over the phone when it all came into place. "Go get her Luke. Wherever she is, and wherever you are, go get her. You deserve love more than anyone I know, other than Peyton. So, go get her, for all our sake's."

Luke smiled and told her thank you but before they said their goodbyes, Luke had one more question. "Lindsey. One more thing. I... I got your other message saying you got my dedication. You... you miss me?" He finally stammered out

"Everyday Lucas. But, it's more that I miss the idea of what we could have had. And, as much as I do miss you, I could never, _ever_ miss you like Peyton has. And I could never go through what she has to get you. Go get her Lucas. Please. For everyone's sake?" she finished.

Lucas nodded,even though he knew she couldn't see him. "Thank you Lindsey. For everything." They said their good byes and hung up. He slowly made his way back over to Peyton.

Luke hopped up onto the hood of the car and sat there. He finally spoke up and said, "Lindsey isn't pregnant. We are over."

That got Peyton's attention. She sat up so fast she almost fell off the car. "We're over?! WHAT?!" she yelled at Lucas.

Lucas chuckled. "No, Peyton, _we're_ over. As in, Lindsey and I. We're over. We are completely and totally done. She told me she slept with another guy after our wedding disaster and I didn't feel a thing. I told her that too, and she sighed. She said, 'Go get her Luke. Wherever she is, and wherever you are, go get her. You deserve love more than anyone I know, other than Peyton. So, go get her, for all our sake's' so, here I am. Getting you, Peyton. I don't want anyone else. I'm done being scared. If I'm going to be scared, I want to be scared with _you_. Just like at that state championship game, it's you. The one IO want next to me when my dreams come true. It's you. It's always been you, Peyton."

Luke reached for Peyton's hand to see what her reaction would be. She didn't pull away. He wrapped his hand around hers, and she squeezed. "I'm glad Luke. No, I'm ecstatic. But we still need to talk."

Lucas nodded. "Okay, let's talk. You go first."

Peyton nodded and thought about what subject she wanted to bring up first. "Okay, let's start with this. Why were you at TRIC completely past out from _way_ too much alcohol?"

Lucas sighed. "Well, you sure don't like giving me any slack do you?" Peyton just shook her head. "Okay. Well Lindsey had called me during half time. She told me she was seeing someone else. It freaked me out. I guess I didn't think I was over her yet, so hearing she was over me in so little time scared me. So, when I went back out to the game, I was pissed off. I was being an asshole of a coach and when a foul got called, I freaked out. I started yelling at the referee and then one of the kids on the other team walked by me and said, 'throw his ass out of the game' and I just lost it. I grabbed the kid by his shirt and almost punched him. Needless to say, I got suspended for 10 games. Did I tell you that?" Peyton shook her head in shock at all this information. "Yeah, well I did. So, I went to TRIC and just started drinking, and drinking, and drinking. Then enter you, saving my ass." Luke looked over at Peyton and smiled, reaching over to push a piece of hair off of her face.

Peyton nodded. "Okay. So, that's why you were drunk out of your mind. I wanted to ask you about Lindsey, but you already basically informed me all I needed to know. But, one more thing about that. Your engagement. Why, Lucas? Why did you do it?"

Luke sat there for a few minutes and then said, "Well, I guess I was scared. I knew I as getting more feelings for you then I should have had, so I figured if I pushed them aside and asked her to marry me, they would go away. I was being a coward, basically."

Peyton nodded. "Your turn," she said.

Luke thought about it. "Okay, I only have one thing. Why did you come home, Peyton?"

That hit home to Peyton. She took a sharp intake of breath and then after a little while said, "Honestly, or what I told everyone else was my reason?"

"Honestly. And, well, I guess what you told everyone." He paused and then simply said, "Both."

"Well, I told everyone it wasn't for you. It was because I needed to get out of LA, that LA was changing me and wasn't letting me accomplish my dreams, so I needed to get out. Which, was partially true, but only a small part. Mainly, I came home for you, Lucas. I thought that you might be here and I needed to see you. I needed to see how you were doing."

"Yeah, I was afraid of that."

Peyton whipped her head to the side. "Excuse me?" she said to him.

"I was afraid we both came home for the same reason. I came home for you, because Brooke, sneaky little Brooke, sent me a message saying you guys were coming back. So, I did too. I wanted to see you, and that worried me because I was with Lindsey, Peyton. I didn't want to betray her, but at the same time, I didn't want to risk not being able to ever see you again if I didn't go back to Tree Hill when you did."

"Wow. We really are more alike that I thought." Peyton looked at Lucas and smiled. "Want to get back to the hotel and go grab a bite to eat.

"I'd love to. Let's get out of here. Oh wait, we have to take a picture, first."

"Why?"

Lucas smirked then said, "Because. This is probably the first serious conversation we had about ourselves that involved our relationship and other people that we didn't break out into a fight. I guess we really are growing up, aren't we?"

Peyton laughed, the said, "Yeah, I guess we are."

**Well, I hope you guys liked this. I wrote this at like midnight. I just had this idea in my head that I had to get onto paper, er, virtually speaking, of course. Ha-ha. Well, review. I hope you guys like this. I'm going to try and keep it going as long as I get reviews telling me I should. If there aren't any reviews saying you guys want me to continue, I might just mark this off as a Complete FanFic. Not a threat to get reviews or anything, I just don't know if it could continue or not. Let me know if I should continue, and if you have any suggestions, give them to me. I'll give you credit in the beginning like I did for ****lovely35**** on the Hoover Dam idea. Hope you liked this chapter!**

**xoxo-Sonya**


	6. Early Mornings and Sunrises

**Okay, so here's my next update. I feel like this is all I've done for the past couple days. Ha-ha. I hope you guys enjoy this, because this was really fun to write. We're going to start getting into some more fun stuff, and definitely more Leyton love. Be prepared… (Mischievous grin)**

Lucas and Peyton drove back to Vegas. The whole way there they talked, laughed and listened to music (a mix Peyton picked, so you knew it was good). When they got to Vegas, they went to Mandalay Bay and ate at Coral Reef Lounge and Sushi Bar. They stayed for well over an hour and just laughed. Peyton had never been so happy in her life, and Lucas had never seen her smile so much. When they were walking out of Coral Reef, Lucas said, "So, Ms. Sawyer, where to next?"

Peyton thought for a few minutes then said, "Well, while we're here, I'd love to just go and play a game of Russian roulette. Please?" she asked him with her big sad puppy dog eyes.

"Well, you of all people should know that the puppy dog eyes are what pull me in, every time." Lucas said with a playful wink. "Okay, let's go." They walked to the casino in Mandalay Bay, and when they walked in, it was a miracle. "Wow," Peyton said, breathless. "It's… it's… wow," she said. "It's so… not Vegas." She finally said and she was right.

It was very _not _tacky. There was definitely some Vegas everywhere you looked but it had to be the most upper-class casino either of the two had ever been in.

"This is amazing." Lucas said. "Okay, come on. We have to play one game of Russian roulette and one game of slots. But that's it! It's expensive staying in Vegas you know," he said, with a twinkle in his eye. Little did Peyton know, although it was expensive staying in Vegas, that wasn't all Lucas was saving for. He was saving money to drive to the Southern Californian coast, and then drive from there all the way back to Tree Hill. He wanted to spend as much time alone with her before they had to be back in Tree Hill and back to their hectic lives.

Peyton said, "Nope, no slots for me. I suck at those. I am, on the other hand, the master at Russian roulette."

Lucas laughed and said, "Ok, you play Russian roulette, and then we go to a slot machine and I'll play that and then we have to get out of here.

"What's the rush, Mr. Scott?" Peyton asked playfully.

"Nothing!" he said, "I'm just… I get addicted to things easily." Then he pulled Peyton close and whispered in her ear, "Like you." And he gave her a warm, passionate kiss on the lips.

When they finally pulled away, Peyton was breathless. She shook her head and said, "You always have that affect on me, Lucas Scott." Luke smiled. "Okay, I'll make a deal with you. One game of Russian roulette and then we hit up the House of Blues for one or two songs. Deal?" she asked.

"Deal." The truth was Lucas didn't care about gambling. He just wanted to see Peyton happy. And right now, she was happier than she had been in years.

When the happy couple was leaving the House of Blues, Peyton assumed it was to go back to their hotel. And it was, but not to stay.

"Lucas, what are we doing?" Peyton asked when they got back to their hotel and Lucas quickly started packing.

"Well, we can't stay in Vegas forever."

Instantly, Peyton became scared. "What?" she screeched, afraid they were leaving their happy bliss and going back to Tree Hill, and right now, that was something she just did not want to do, not yet anyways.

Luke paused from packing and turned toward Peyton. "What? You don't want to drive back to tree Hill and see all kinds of awesome stuff, and basically, just take our time to spend as much time together as possible?" Lucas asked her, all serious and whatnot, pulling her leg so to speak.

Peyton's worry instantly disappeared from her face and she quickly gained a huge smile. "Oh, well when you put it like that… let's do it," she said.

"I figured you'd say that." Lucas smirked.

They both finished up packing and then got ready for bed. It was ten o'clock, and both of them needed to get to sleep. "We have a long day ahead," Lucas said when Peyton questioned why they were going to bed so early.

She rolled her eyes at him, but smiled. Then they both fell into a peaceful sleep for the second time in two days.

* * *

**Okay, so I was going to split these up into two separate chapters, but they were too short alone. So, here it is. This was really fun to write, so I really hope you guys like it.**

* * *

Luke sat in the driver seat, while Peyton sat in the passenger side, out cold. She was tired form the night before, as Lucas knew she would be. He turned to look over at her in the early morning darkness, and she looked beautiful. _It's never going to get better than this…_ Lucas thought, his thoughts drifting from Peyton, to their future, and back to Peyton again. _I'm scared, though._ He thought, _So, so scared, but it's completely worth it._

He didn't want to be anywhere else, with anyone else, and that's why he knew what he was doing in the next couple of hours when he and Peyton arrived at the beach and the sun was rising, was the right thing to do.

Peyton stirred from beside him, and he looked over at her. She was staring at him with a smile on. "Hey, sleepyhead," he said to her. "I didn't think you were ever going to wake up," he smirked.

She smacked him on the shoulder playfully and then said, "Yeah, yeah, I should have gone to bed earlier. So what? So… where are we going?" She asked Lucas, like a little kid asking for their birthday presents a day early.

"You'll see, Ms. Sawyer. Be patient." Lucas said, but then laughed when he saw Peyton pouting, like said little kid who got rejected in asking for birthday presents a day early.

"Fine. I'm going back to-"

"Oh, no you don't!" Lucas said, grabbing her arm, hard enough to stop her, but not so hard he hurt her. "We're getting close. You're going to want to see this, okay?"

She rolled her eyes, but inside, she was really excited.

An hour later, Peyton had fallen back asleep, much to Lucas's dismay, and Lucas was pulling up to a beach. The sun was just about to rise, and it was exactly how Lucas wanted it… exactly how he pictured doing this.

He shook Peyton a little to wake her up. "Hmm?" she mumbled to him.

"Peyton, come on. Wake up."

After a few minutes of rubbing her eyes and a few muttered curses directed towards Mr. Scott himself, Peyton was fully awake. "Where are we…" she started to say, but trailed off, because when she looked around, she realized she was at a beach. "Luke! This is… wow," was all she could say.

"Come on, we only have a couple more minutes before… well, you'll see," Lucas said and jumped out of the car. Peyton followed suite, and followed him to the waters edge.

"Luke this is absolutely amazing, but, Tree Hill is in the _opposite_ direction than California!" Peyton exclaimed.

"Wait for it…" Luke said.

And then, all of a sudden, the sun rose. It turned the sky a magnificent purple and then pink and orange and yellow. It looked like Peyton herself had gotten hold of the sky and painted on it one of her magnificent creations. "Wow." Peyton said, breathless. "After all this time I had been in LA, never once did I do this, not once." Peyton said, amazed at herself.

Luke looked at her and smiled. "Then that just makes this all the more special, don't you think?" Luke grabbed at his necklace he put on the other day and took it off. He pulled the ring off of the chain and put it in his palm without Peyton even noticing. He spoke up and said, "I know it's early, but I wanted you to see this. And I figured if we got here and you _did_ get to see this, that'd make this," Luke paused to show Peyton the ring, and then said, "all the more special." Luke kneeled down in front of Peyton. Tears turned her pretty emerald green eyes sparkly, and she put her hand in front of her mouth, completely and totally surprised, which is what Lucas wanted.

"Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, will you marry me? And this time, please, say yes?"

Peyton burst into happy tears as she choked out a "yes" that cause Lucas to jump up and for her to jump into his arms.

Luke whispered into her ear while he was spinning her around in the air, "True Love Always, Peyton. I promise I will never forget that, not this time."

**Okay, so I know that was short. But, I have a big chapter coming up next, so be prepared.**

**It's gonna get good from here on out, or it should be. I'm really excited for the next chapter, so it should be good. Read and review and let me know what you think!**

**xoxo--Sonya**


	7. Acting Like Idiots and Passion Overload

Lucas and Peyton spent the rest of the day together. They didn't care where they went, as long as they went there, together.

_You're the one I want next to me when my dreams come true…_ Lucas thought back to when he said that to Peyton. It was so damn true. Here he was, with Peyton. He wanted to be with her when he published his next book. He wanted to be there for her whenever she got another artist signed to her record label. He just wanted her, period.

Suddenly, Lucas didn't want to wait to marry Peyton. They both were sitting in the sand on a beach, a different beach from where he proposed, but a beach nonetheless. "Hey," Luke suddenly said. "Let's get married tomorrow. Let's not wait. I don't want to wait Peyton."

Peyton stared at him for a minute and then said, "Luke, I don't want to wait either, not really, but what about our friends? Brooke? Haley? I think they'd want to know about this before it happens, don't you?"

Luke thought for a minute and then said, "Fine, let's tell them. Let's get them on the next plane ride out here and get married." Lucas said with a smile.

Peyton shook her head, "Lucas. You promised me forever this time, and last time you promised you'd wait. Let's combine those two promises this time, please?"

Lucas shook his head, slightly frustrated, but he tried to understand what Peyton was getting at. "Hmph. Okay," He growled out. "I'm saying 'okay', but on the inside, I want you right now, Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer."

She smiled that special smile, that smile she reserved; it seemed like, just for him. "Okay, Lucas Eugene Scott."

Once the sun went down and Peyton and Lucas watched the sun set into the ocean, they jumped into the car and drove back towards Las Vegas. "Lucas, why are we going back to Vegas?"

"Well, Ms. Patient, I didn't really want to drive too far and be exhausted, so I figured we could just go back to Vegas and start fresh tomorrow. Sound good?" Lucas asked her.

She smiled at his genuine care. _Any other guy would want to get back home as soon as possible, _She thought to herself, _but not Lucas._ Then she smiled at that thought. "Sounds amazing Mr. Caring," she replied, going along with his little "Ms. And Mr." thing they had going.

He smirked and said, "Don't be a smartass."

She laughed and said, "Never, Lucas Scott, never."

Luke and Peyton arrived back in one piece to their original hotel that they had checked out of that morning. They went in and got another room and brought an overnight bag up to their room .They got ready for bed wordlessly and then before Peyton could climb into bed, overcome with exhaustion and the feeling of complete and total love, Lucas came up behind her and pulled her gently over to the window overlooking Las Vegas itself. He opened the blinds and put his arms around her waist. Then he put his chin on Peyton's shoulder and whispered in her ear, "I love you, you know that?"

Peyton smiled that smile again and turned her face towards his and whispered, "Yeah, I do know. And I love you too." Lucas kissed her softly, gently increasing his passion with every passing moment. They stumbled over towards the king sized bed in the room. Lucas gently lowered Peyton onto the bed, and he followed, slowly lowering himself on top of her.

Luke kissed her slowly and then placed several light, feather-like kisses along her jaw line. Peyton arched her back with every kiss and when Luke kissed her neck, right on her "sweet spot" as he liked to call it, she let out a slight moan. Luke went lower, placing kisses down her stomach until her reached her bellybutton and Peyton stopped him. "Not… not now. I just… not now. Let's wait, please?"

Luke rolled over onto his back and blew out a frustrated sigh. "You're killing me here, Peyton. Absolutely _killing_ me!"

Peyton gave Lucas a sympathetic smile and said, "Lucas, I love you. But, let's wait, at least until our wedding night, okay?"

"_Fine,_" Luke growled out. "But, I'm none too happy about it." Then he added a smile to show her he was upset, but he loved her and he promised her he'd wait, even when it came to _this_.

She gave him one slower, long kiss and then got into the bed. "I'm sorry Luke. I love you though. Night."

Luke kissed her on the forehead and said, "Night, Peyton. I love you more than you'll know," but it was already too late. Peyton was passed out, just like Lucas knew she would be. He smiled and lay down next to her, just watching her steady breathing, her chest rising and lowering, over and over, until he too, fell asleep, next to the girl he was supposed to be with, forever.

The next day, Lucas and Peyton got up early and drove. Even though Peyton was grumpy because it was early, and she wasn't really a morning person, the views on their way to Denver made up for it. They drove as far as Denver, and stopped. They went to the Denver Art Museum and, basically, acted like idiots.

"Lucas. We just got kicked out of a _museum_. How the hell did that happen?" Peyton asked in between gasps for breath because she was laughing so hard.

But Lucas didn't answer. He was too out of breath from laughing to answer. Finally, they stopped and just doubled over in laughter, thinking of all the idiotic things they did.

"Oh my God, I can't believe all the _old_ people in there! I mean, I respect my elders as much as the next person, but COME ON! They were EVERYWHERE!"

Lucas was laughing and nodding, and when he finally got his breathing back to normal he said, "I know! I was really excited to take you here, because I thought it was very hip and modern. Oh my God, I've never been so wrong in my life!" Luke finished off with another bout of laughter that sent Peyton 

over the edge again, too. After a little bit, when they finally stopped laughing, the two went out for some dinner and then went back to their hotel.

Peyton was sitting in the bed under the covers on her iPhone, probably texting Mia to see how her tour was going. Lucas smiled at her and then turned around and jumped in the shower.

When he got out with nothing but a towel wrapped around him, Peyton looked up and saw him. _This isn't fair,_ she thought to herself, _why does he have to look so gorgeous and be almost half naked in front of me?_ She shook her head and spoke up. "Lucas, you do realize that when you stand there in front of me, _wet and half naked_, it makes it extremely hard to want to wait to get married."

Luke smirked and said, "That was my plan," and then he dropped his towel.

**Okay, so I thought about ending it here to torture you guys with the idea of CMM**_** naked,**_** but I couldn't resist. Enjoy!!**

Peyton shrieked and thought about closing her eyes, but then quickly changed her mind. She looked straight at Lucas, and then he jumped on their King sized bed.

He, of course, was not naked under his towel. He put on boxers before he came out of the shower. He lay on top of Peyton, but then quickly flipped them both over so he was under her. "Lucas Scott… how do you expect me to _not_ jump you, right here, right now?"

"Well," he said, and then slowly started kissing her neck, which caused her to release a tiny moan, which caused her to try and push him off of her. "I don't." he said, finally, and then went back to kissing her, slowly progressing form her lips, to her neck, to her stomach, which was where Peyton drew the line.

"Lucas, stop," she said to him, pushing Luke off and slowly getting out of the bed.

Luke rolled over onto his back and groaned. "Peyton, seriously?"

She just nodded. "Yes, seriously."

Luke knew something else was bothering her; It wasn't just her wanting to wait. "Peyton what's wrong?"

Peyton shrugged as she walked over to the window overlooking Denver. "I don't know," was all she could say.

Luke shook his head. "Yes, you do. Come on," Luke said as he walked over to Peyton and wrapped his arms around her waist and put his chin on her shoulder. "Tell me," he murmured into her ear.

Peyton sighed and then said, "You're going to think it's dumb."

All Luke could say was, "Never."

She finally told him what had been bothering her. "Okay, here it goes. " She sighed and then told Lucas what was up. "Okay, do you remember the Honey Grove prom?"

Lucas smiled at the memory. The gang had went on a little "road trip" to find Mouth, who happened to be in jail in a little town called Honey Grove. Once they picked Mouth up, they found out the Honey Grove High prom was that night. So, they dressed up and went, since their prom wasn't exactly a night of good memories. That was also the night Lucas and Peyton slept together for the first time.

Anyways, Luke nodded and said, "Of course, how could I forget?"

Peyton smiled for a minute then said, "Okay, well, you obviously get the point. You probably don't remember that even though we were together for awhile after that, I felt like once I slept with you, I left myself more vulnerable and risked a bigger chance to you leaving," she finished off with a sad laugh and then frowned. "Stupid right?" she said.

Lucas shook his head and felt awful. He never even considered that Peyton would feel this way, but honestly, how could he? Peyton closed herself off, even to him; in fact, especially to him. But Luke knew why. She had been hurt too much to let her guard down too easily. And she was doing exactly that 

right now. Finally he spoke up. "Peyton, I'm sorry. I never even thought about that, and I should have. But, why didn't you tell me this earlier? I never would have kept pushing me if you just _told_ me."

Peyton shrugged again and then perked up. "You mean you don't care?"

He shook his head vigorously. "Not in a million years."

She smiled and then realized something. She jumped into Luke's arm and started kissing him like there was no tomorrow. Finally, when they were both completely out of breathe and laying on the bed, blissfully happy. "What was _that_?" Luke asked in complete and total shock.

She shrugged and said, "Nothin'."

Luke rolled his eyes and pasted that broody smile of his on his face. "Yeah, yeah…" he trailed off, and then started kissing her neck.

Finally, they had their moment. The moment they had built up in their minds only to have it crushed so many times. Luke stopped suddenly and said, "Peyton, are you sure?"

Peyton just grabbed the back of his head and kissed him more passionately than she had ever kissed him in her life. They slept together that night, falling asleep in each others arms, so happy that it should be illegal.

**Yeah, okay, so the last line was corny. Oh well **

**Ok, so this is loooong, I know, but, I needed to write a little longer one.**

**Get ready for chapter 8! It's gonna get crazy! (in a good way!)**

**Xoxo-Sonya**


	8. Nervewracking Notes and Secret Plans

**So, here's chapter eight! I'm so excited with how far I'm getting on this story! I have to thank all my reviewers- if you guys didn't review, then I wouldn't have this story!**

**But, special thanks to hjlutherbsw for all the help! Your ideas have seriously saved this story (and my sanity)! Ha-ha ;D  
**

**So, these next few chapter's are gonna be really fun, I hope you guys like them, because I sure do!**

**Read and review please, it really helps me out!**

**And now on with the show, er… story. **

Lucas woke up the next morning next to Peyton. She was lying in his arms, her chest rising and lowering with each steady breath she took. Luke took a few minutes to just watch her sleep, and then he thought of something. He jumped up and wrote Peyton a note incase she woke up while he was gone. Lucas pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and walked into the hallway of their hotel with his cell phone in his hand, ready to call his best friend and make her aware of his new idea/plan.

Peyton woke up more or less 20 minutes after Lucas had gone out into the hall. She looked around and didn't see Lucas or his phone. She panicked. "Luke?" she called out.

No answer.

_Shit_, she thought to herself. _Where is he?_

She walked over to the makeshift coffee table in their room and saw a piece of paper sitting on it with familiar hand writing on it. She picked the note up and read it.

_Peyton-_

_I just went into town to get some breakfast stuff. I'll be back, I promise. Oh yeah, I thought we could stay in Denver for another day and stay here tonight to catch up on sleep. _

_I love you_

_-Lucas_

Peyton sighed a huge sigh of relief and laughed at herself. She had gotten worked up over nothing and Luke _was_ coming back, so there was nothing to worry about. Peyton ambled over to the coffee maker that the hotel provided them with and she started a pot of coffee.

A little while later, with a cup of coffee in hand, Peyton walked out onto the balcony her and Luke had attached to their room. She sat down on a chair and stared out over Denver. It was gorgeous, really. She was glad she and Luke were staying here another day. She wasn't too tired really, but she knew the "jet lag", so to speak, would catch up with her.

Peyton started thinking about her past relationships for some reason. She wanted to know what she did wrong so she wouldn't screw up what she had going with Luke. A voice kept echoing in her head, and she couldn't place who it was. _A relationship takes two people, Peyton._ It almost sounded something like Ellie would say, but Peyton wasn't sure. She shrugged her shoulders and went on sipping her coffee and enjoying the scenery.

_MEANWHILE…_

Lucas dialed Haley's number and silently urged, _Come on Hales, pick up, pick up, pick up!_

Finally, after what seemed like ten minutes, Haley picked up. "Hello?"

"Hales, how's it going?"

Haley laughed. "Oh, you know. I'm in Tree Hill while you're god knows where! Lucas Scott, you have some _serious_ explaining to do!" Haley exclaimed.

Lucas laughed and told her what he and Peyton had done. He told her about Vegas and about their plans to drive cross country back to Tree Hill. He finished up and said, "Now we're in Denver. But, I need your help, Hales. See, I sort of proposed-"

"You did WHAT?!" Haley exclaimed, screaming into the phone.

"Haley, shut up and listen please? Okay, so, I proposed on a beach when the sun was rising, which was great and all, and I figured I could wait for Peyton to want to get married, but I cant. I want to marry her, _now_," he stressed. "So, I need your help. I was thinking…" and so he went. Lucas told her how he was thinking a surprise wedding would be perfect. He wanted to do it at the River Court, where everything, it seemed, important happened to them. "I figured Brooke could use one of the wedding dresses I'm sure she has made and alter it for Peyton's size and then you and Brooke could organize it. I won't be much help, and I'm sorry to-"

But Haley cut him off. "Uh –uh, Lucas Scott. Do _not_ worry! Brooke and I will have it under control, but, what if I need to call you about something?" Haley questioned, not quite sure how this whole surprise thing was going to work.

"Well, leave me a message, and when I get a chance, I'll call you. It will probably be late though, so be prepared." Luke said.

Haley nodded. "It's fine. Give me a time frame though, Luke. I can't make a bunch of elaborate plans if you're going to be home tomorrow."

"We'll probably be five more days, at least."

Haley nodded again, and then said, "Okay," because she knew Luke obviously couldn't see her moves through the phone. "Luke, don't worry about this, okay? Me and Brooke will have it totally under control. The only thing you need to do is get a tux and pick a first dance song, okay?"

"Thank you Haley, honestly, you have no idea how much this means to me."

They said their goodbyes and Lucas promised to call her again in a few days to check on things.

_I can't believe how much trouble I'm going to, _Lucas thought. _I must really love this girl._ But then he laughed, because _obviously_ he loved Peyton, he always had. _True love always_, he thought to himself. Then he went to a store in town so he could pick up those breakfast things he promised Peyton in the note he left.

When Lucas got back to the hotel, Peyton had showered and made another pot of coffee. When he walked through the door, Peyton glared at him. "You should _not_ have done that."

Lucas looked at her, mentally going through in his head what he could have done. After a few minutes, Lucas finally spoke up and said, "Peyton, I'm sorry, but I have _no _idea what you're talking about."

She shook her head and said, "Lucas. Seriously? Did you not think that when I woke up this morning after having sex with you the night before and telling you how I was vulnerable and all that, that I wouldn't freak out when I woke up and you _weren't_ there next to me?!"

Lucas looked surprised, because, after all he _had_ left her a note. "Peyton, I'm sorry. I thought I left the note in plain-"

But Peyton cut him off before he could finish. "No, Lucas, you didn't think! Yes, you left a note. Yes, you came back, but it still scared the hell out of me. Lucas, I was afraid you left, and you weren't coming back," she finished, here eyes glistening with tears that were about to fall at any moment.

Luke walked over to her and hugged her. "Peyt, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, I just meant to…" Luke trailed off for a minute and then continued. "I just meant to go out and make you a nice breakfast to wake up to," he finished off.

Peyton smiled at his caring-ness, but it still scared her to be open about things. Although Lucas was determined to change that, he knew it would be hard, just from seeing how she reacted this morning.

Now, he was afraid to plan this wedding behind her back. _Too late now,_ he thought. _I've already started, and there's no going back now._

_**Okay, so that was chapter eight. I hope you guys liked it. Sorry it took so long for me to update. I'm working on chapter nine, so it should be up by either tonight or tomorrow. Give me some reviews to let me know if you liked it!**_

__

_**Xoxo--Sonya**_


	9. Chicago, baby!

_**Chapter nine!! Yippee!! So, my thanks go out to all my reviewers. You guys, in one simple word, **_**rock.**_** Special SPECIAL thanks to **_**lovely35.**_** Your review was probably one of the greatest and longest I've gotten so far, so thank you!!**_

_**I hope you guys like this chapter!! As always, read and review!**_

Okay, so there was a typo in this chapter, so I had to fix it. I forgot something in, but it was just a city name, so it wasn't that important! Okay, well, it's fixed, sorry I didn't check this before I posted it! ;D

_**Xoxo-Sonya**_

--xox--

Lucas and Peyton were having the greatest time. They were laughing so much, and they were smiling so much their faces hurt. Lucas couldn't be happier. They had driven all the way to Chicago so far. They had gone so out of the way. It'd been two days since they left Denver. Lucas was keeping a mental time check for how long they had to get back to Tree Hill, and right now they had three days to get back. He knew Haley wouldn't care if they were a day late, but he also knew that Brooke _would_. So, he was trying his best to get them back.

He decided not to leave Peyton anymore in the morning. He felt terrible for the one time he did; the look on her face was enough to break his heart. So, he called at night when Peyton went to sleep, and every morning, Peyton woke up to Lucas sleeping next to her, just as he should be.

Luke and Peyton had gotten a late start that morning when they left St. Louis, so they got into Chicago that night, around 6:30 or so. Lucas knew they still had three days to get back to Tree Hill, so Peyton and he were going to stay in Chicago overnight, and then leave in the afternoon. He was thinking about it and didn't think they'd be back in two days, so he texted Haley and told her so at a rest stop while Peyton was in the bathroom.

When they got to Chicago, Peyton and Lucas signed in to a hotel, and then got ready and went to dinner.

_**Earlier that day in Tree Hill…**_

Haley had been working like a madwoman for this surprise wedding. Right now, she was on her way to go see Brooke and see how her dress creation for Peyton was going. So far though, she had gotten flowers ordered, a cake ordered, and Peyton and Lucas' closest friends invited. They were using stargazer lilies for Peyton's bouquet and they weren't using flowers for the maid-of-honor or bridesmaids. Luckily, Brooke knew exactly what kind of cake Peyton would want and Haley for Luke. They ordered a white cake with a chocolate fudge filling and then white butter cream frosting with stargazer lilies cascading down the side. Luke liked white cake, while Peyton like chocolate, so they combined the two, and that's why they used the chocolate filling and white cake. The cake was small, but that was okay. Brooke and Haley invited Deb, Karen and Andy, Mouth and Millicent, Skills, Nathan (of course), Lily and Jamie, and then Mia, but that was it. They didn't want too many people. These were their closest friends, and as far as Haley was concerned, the only people who deserved to be invited.

Haley still needed to get Nathan to get the guys to go get tuxedo's, to have Lucas pick his and Peyton's first dance song, and to try and contact Mia to have her come home early from her tour. Nathan was going to be Lucas's best man, and then Brooke was going to be Peyton's, but they weren't having any bridesmaids or anything like that.

Haley walked into Clothes over Bros. and went right into where Brooke was working on Peyton's dress. "Hey Brooke," she called out.

When Haley walked into Brooke's back room, she saw that Brooke was almost done with Peyton's dress, and it was gorgeous. "Oh, Brooke…" she breathed. "The dress… it's gorgeous!"

Brooke looked up and beamed. "Yeah, I thought I did pretty well."

The dress was a traditional white dress, but the train, which was hidden under the white and slowly peeked out, was a bright red-pink that matched the stargazer lilies they were using. The dress was strapless and had delicate beading on the bodice. It was simple, yet very elegant, and very, _very_ Peyton. "Brooke, this is amazing," Haley said again, amazed at how well her friend did in so little time.

"Thanks. Now, onto more wedding planning!" Brooke said, standing up and walking away from her dress creation. "Has Lucas told you what song he wants to use for their first dance?"

Haley moaned a painful moan and said, "No! He hasn't! I have _no clue_ what song he wants!"

Suddenly, Haley's phone chirped a familiar tone that told her it was Lucas. "Speak of the devil," she said to Brooke and then answered. "Hi, Luke."

"Hey, Hales. I have a question."

"Okay, shoot."

"Can I have Mia's cell phone number? I want to ask her something, and I need it quick before Peyton starts to wonder where I am."

Haley said questioningly, "Well, where exactly are you?"

Luke sighed and said, "I'm in the hall of our hotel. Peyton and I planned on leaving early, but we both woke up late, so she wanted to take her time getting a bath or whatever. I knew she'd take a while so I took the opportunity to call you. But, I had an idea for our first dance song and I need to talk to Mia."

Haley nodded. "Okay, well it's…" and Haley rattled off Mia's number. Luckily, Mia had come home the other day so he'd be here for Peyton's wedding.

They said their goodbye's and Haley and Brooke went back to planning. "Ok, so Luke's thinking of the song at least," Brooke said.

Haley nodded. "Yeah, that's good. So, when are we going to decorate?"

Brooke thought and then said, "Well, we should wait. We might as well wait until the day of the wedding so it doesn't get ruined."

Haley nodded again and said, "Okay that sounds good." Then, she picked up her purse and started to walk out the door. She spoke up and said, "Alright, I got to go check on Nathan and make sure 

he's got the whole tux thing under control. I'll call you if I know of any problems. Bye Brooke," Haley said with a wave of her hand, and was gone.

_**Meanwhile…**_

"Hello?" a young, female voice said.

"Hi, Mia, it's Lucas. How are things going?"

Mia chuckled. "Oh, I'm good Luke, how are you and Peyton?"

Luke blurted out, "I proposed!"

Mia laughed again. "Yeah, I heard. Congratulations!"

Luke smiled. "Thanks, but I need your help," Luke said, and went on to tell Mia he needed to pick a first dance song. "I'd like you to sing for us Mia. I don't really know what song, yet, but I'd like you to sing."

Mia was ecstatic to hear Luke asking her to do this. "Luke, I'd love to! I already have a song in mind. Don't worry your pretty little self about it!"

Lucas laughed at her excitement. "Okay, thanks so much, Mia."

They said their goodbyes and hung up.

Suddenly, Lucas heard the water in their bathroom shut off, so Luke went back into the room as if he had been in there the whole time.

_**The next day, in Chicago…**_

Peyton and Lucas were walking down the Navy Pier just taking it all in. Peyton was glad to be walking instead of sitting in a car for hours on end, while Lucas was just glad she was happy. They had gone to the Sears Tower, which provided an amazing view, and they went on the Farris wheel located on the Navy Pier. It was now almost one, and they were looking for a place to eat.

"Look! Over there!" Peyton pointed out.

Lucas looked to where she was pointing and saw a place that advertised some of the best French fries in Chicago. Lucas laughed at the simplicity of it al and said, "Alright, let's go. I'm starving."

They went and had lunch and then took another long walk. Peyton didn't want to leave because she knew what was awaiting them in Tree Hill, or so she thought, and it wasn't going to be nearly as fun as this. Lucas, on the other hand, wanted to get back to Tree Hill sooner rather than later, because he knew what was awaiting them. He spoke up and broke the comfortable silence that had enveloped them like a blanket and said, "Come on, we should get going."

Peyton frowned at the idea, but agreed.

Having checked out of their hotel that morning, they had all their bags so they just hoped into the car and were on their way.

_**So, I hope you guys are excited for the wedding! I think I'm going to do a slight time jump in the next chapter, but I'm not sure yet.**_

_**Read and review and let me know what you think!**_

_**Xoxo-Sonya**_


	10. The Big Day

_**Ahh! This is the big chapter right here! Drum roll please……… THE WEDDING!!**_

_**Ahh I am so excited I finally got this chapter done!! It's been all I've wanted to write about since I got the idea! (Thanks Heather! ;D)**_

_**So, here it is! Read and review and let me know what you think!!**_

_**--xoxo--**_

_**The day of the wedding…**_

Lucas and Peyton were about 2 and a half to three hours away from Tree Hill, and Peyton seemed unusually quite. Lucas didn't know why, but he figured it was just because she was tired.

Peyton drifted her thoughts from all the memories her and Lucas had made on their trip, to wondering when their wedding would be, to what they were going to do when they got back to Tree Hill. Suddenly, she burst out, "Where are we going to live?!"

Luke looked at her questioningly. "Excuse me?"

"Where are we going to live when we get to Tree Hill?" Peyton asked again.

Luke looked at her weird and said, "Well, probably in my house. Or we can buy a new house. It doesn't matter." Then after a few minutes of silence, Lucas said, "Peyton is something wrong?"

Peyton didn't say anything for a few minutes, and then she said, "I don't know. I'm just worried that once we get back to Tree Hill, our happy little bubble is going to burst, and something is going to go wrong again, just like always."

Luke gave Peyton a sympathetic smile and then said, "Peyton, stop worrying so much. Everything is going to be fine, I promise."

Peyton shook her head and murmured, "Don't keep promises you can't keep."

Lucas didn't hear her though and suggested, "Why don't you take a nap so you aren't uhm, exhausted once we get home, okay?"

Peyton nodded and did just that.

After a couple more hours, Lucas was almost crawling out of his skin with anticipation. They had only another half hour before they got to Tree Hill, and ultimately, before Lucas married Peyton. Peyton seemed to have perked up a little more once she took a little nap. Now, she was just excited to tell everyone the big news. She could just imagine how many "I told you so's" she would get. She laughed at that thought.

"What's so funny?"

Peyton shook her head but said, "Nothing. I was just thinking about how many 'I told you so's' we'd get when we get back home and tell everyone about, well, this," she finished, holding up her hand with the ring on it.

Lucas laughed too. "Yeah, no kidding," he said, and grabbed Peyton's hand and gave it a kiss.

Just the soft touch of Lucas's lips still made Peyton blush, even after all this time. Luke smiled. To see the red creep up to Peyton's ears made him happy that he still had that effect on her.

_**Meanwhile, in Tree Hill…**_

Haley and Brooke had around three hours to finish setting up and then go get ready. They had set up a few chairs and tables were set up in the back so they could eat cake later. Little twinkle lights were hanging up everywhere and the place looked amazing.

Finally, when the girls were done, they only had a half hour left, or so Lucas told them via text message. The girls raced home and got ready, then called everyone and told them to go to the Rivercourt, because Lucas and Peyton were on their way. Haley and Brooke decided it would be best to just have Lucas drive to the Rivercourt, show Peyton the setup, and then drive her to Nathan and Haley's where Brooke would be taking Peyton to get her dressed and ready for her wedding night.

Brooke said, after all their hard work and time put in, "Peyton better fall over from happiness when she sees all the work we put in," and Haley agreed.

_**Meanwhile…**_

Finally, around a half hour later, they were entering Tree Hill. It was around 7:30, and the sun was getting ready to set. The sky was pink, and blue, and purple, and orange, and it reminded Peyton of the night Lucas proposed to her. It seemed funny to Lucas that the night he proposed and the night they were getting married, the sky would look so similar. Lucas didn't know where to go first. He quickly called Haley to tell her they were home, while Peyton did the same to Brooke. Luke told Haley that they were here, and Haley caught on that he didn't know where to take her. She didn't know if it was the whole best friend telepathy they had going or not, but she assumed as much. "Bring her to the Rivercourt to show her what's going on. Then, Brooke will get her ready and bring her _back_ to the Rivercourt, where you will be waiting. Okay?"

Luke nodded and said, "Okay, see you in a few."

Peyton hung up the same time Lucas did and she smiled at him. "Sorry for freaking out earlier. I just felt…"

"Scared," Lucas finished for her. "I know, and it's okay."

Peyton realized they weren't heading in the right direction for either Peyton or Lucas's home, but for the Rivercourt. Immediately, Peyton thought of the whole "comet" painting she did on the Rivercourt, and blushed immensely. "Hey, Luke?"

Lucas looked at her out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "Hmm?"

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Peyton looked a little agitated that Lucas wouldn't tell her where they were going or why, but she brushed it off. She didn't want to fight with him for something stupid, and inside, she was hoping they could go to the Rivercourt, so she could tell Lucas all about the reason behind the "Comet" drawing she did.

And then, suddenly, just like Peyton was hoping, the Rivercourt came into view. There were little lights twinkling, and a white tent put up, with more lights and flowers underneath it. It took Peyton's breath away. It was the most romantic thing, next to "The Proposal", Peyton had ever seen. When she found her voice finally, she spoke up. "Lucas, I think something's going on that we shouldn't interrupt." It made her a little sad that now that they were hear, she couldn't show him.

Lucas nodded. "You're right. Something's going on." Then, Luke pulled into the parking lot by the Rivercourt and got out. He walked over to the passenger side and opened the door. He grabbed Peyton's hand and pulled her gently out of the car. "Come on," he said, and then he pulled Peyton towards the white tent.

Everything was gorgeous. Lights were strung up all around the outside of the tent, while on the inside, lights were shining and Stargazer lilies were everywhere. "Lucas, seriously, we shouldn't…" but Peyton trailed off. Suddenly, she noticed Haley and Nathan, Brooke, Mouth and Millicent, Deb, Karen and Andy, and Jamie and Lily all dressed up, like they were ready for… "A wedding!" Peyton screeched.

Lucas smiled and said, "Not just any wedding, _our_ wedding," and then gave Peyton a warm kiss.

Peyton stood there, motionless and speechless for what seemed like five hours, but was probably only five minutes. "What… what did you say?" she said in almost a whisper.

"It's for us, Peyton. I didn't want to wait, but I know you said you wanted our friends to be there. So here it is, a perfect wedding for us."

Peyton wasn't sure what to think. She was happy and sad and surprised and… everything, all jumbled into one. She was happy because Luke went to all this trouble for _her_. She was sad because she didn't get to plan her own wedding. She was surprised because, well… HELLO?! There was a wedding all spread out in front of where she stood, with her name on it. Lucas was starting to look at her with a worried look on his face. "Peyton?" he said. "Peyton, please say something."

Suddenly, as if someone had snapped their fingers, Peyton pushed all her bad feelings aside and pasted… no, put an extremely happy smile on. "Lucas, this is amazing, but… I don't even have a dress. Nor do you have a tux."

Then Brooke and Haley stepped forward, holding a black garment bag that said "Clothes over Bros." on the left of the zipper. Haley held onto the hanger, while Brooke started to unzip the bag. Haley spoke up first. "Peyton, we love you. We want you to be happy. To us, this is the only way you _will_ be happy. So, congratulations," Haley finished with a warm smile.

Then Brooke said, "Congratulations sweetie, I hope you like this." Then Brooke pulled the wedding dress she had made out of the bag to show Peyton.

Peyton gasped when she saw it. Then, she started to cry. "Oh, Brooke. This is amazing!" She walked over to the dress and touched it to make sure it wasn't an illusion, and sure enough, it was the real deal. "You guys "You did _so much_," Peyton said as she stepped back to take everything in. "This is so surreal. Thank you so much."

Everyone involved, mainly Haley, Lucas, and Brooke, smiled bashfully. Then Brooke stepped forward and said, "Okay, enough thanking. I need to get you to Haley's house and get you dressed for your wedding!" Brooke grabbed a hold of Peyton's hand and dragged her towards her car. She practically pushed Peyton into the car and then walked to the driver's side. They waved bye to everyone and were on their way.

Once Peyton and Brooke left, Haley turned Lucas over to Nathan so he could get Lucas ready. When Lucas and Nathan arrived at Haley and Nate's house, Lucas hurried up and put his tux on. He came out of the bathroom and said, "How do I look?"

Nathan rolled his eyes and said, "Like you're in love." Lucas just beamed at the statement, because he knew that he loved Peyton, God did he love her. "So, Luke, I haven't got to talk to you since you got home. How was the whole trip?"

"Great. We went to Denver, and St. Louis, and Chicago, to name a few," Lucas said with a laugh.

Nathan smiled at how happy his brother was. "That's great, Luke, I'm really happy for you."

Nate then clapped Luke on the back and said, "Come on, dude, we better get back, before Peyton beats us to it."

"Come on, Peyton! Get _out_ here!" Brooke said while she banged on the door to emphasize on the point.

Finally, Peyton opened the door. "Wow, Peyton, I mean… wow."

Peyton was absolutely beaming. She looked so happy. "Yeah, I'd say you did a _very_ good job Brooke."

Brooke smiled. "Thanks, Peyton, but the dress is only fifty percent," she said with a wink.

Brooke then put some simple make-up on Peyton and did her hair. They decided on a simple half up-do. They kept Peyton's hair naturally curly, because they both knew Luke loved it like that. Soon, Peyton was ready, and the girls jumped into the car. Peyton smiled and thought, _in less than an hour, I'm going to be married to a guy I am absolutely in love with._

Lucas and Nathan arrived before the girls did. When they got there, the priest had arrived, and so had Mia. Mia ran over to Lucas and gave him a hug. "Congratulations! But Lucas, if you hurt her again-"

But Luke cut her off. "Don't worry Mia. It's not going to happen."

Mia smiled and said, "Good."

"So, Mia, you have your song picked, right?"

Mia smiled and said, "Yep! It's great. Peyton's going to love it."

Lucas smiled. "Good, I have to go check on a few more things, but have a seat. I'll see you after the wedding," Lucas said, and walked toward Haley. "Hey, Hales, where are they?"

"They're on their way."

Luke smiled. "Good. Should we start-"

But Haley cut him off. "Don't worry Lucas. Go stand by the priest; I'll gather everyone, because I think I see Brooke pulling in now."

Luke turned around to see if Haley was correct, and sure enough, she was. So Luke grabbed Nathan's arm and pulled him up next to the priest, while everyone waited for The Bride to arrive.

Brooke jumped out of the car and walked ahead of Peyton. Peyton sat in the car and took a deep breathe and then counted to ten. _8…9…10. _Then she got out of the car, and walked over to the opening of the tent. Brooke hurried up to the front, because she was, of course, Peyton's maid of honor.

Suddenly, an organ started playing, and it was Peyton's cue to start walking. The first thing she thought was, _I wish Derek was here to walk me down the aisle._ She knew he would be the next best thing to her dad, and she also knew how happy Derek would be to finally get to see Peyton happy with the one she loved. Then, as if God himself were reading her thoughts, Derek popped out from behind the tent. He smiled at Peyton and said, "Hey there, sis." Peyton stopped dead in her tracks. Lucas smiled at the amount of happiness on her face, glad that Haley could convince Derek to come home for a day or two. Peyton ran up to Derek and gave him a big hug. When they were finished with their reunion, Derek whispered in her ear, "Come on, girl, we have a wedding we're holding up."

Haley walked up to the two and handed Peyton her bouquet. Then, they continued down the isle. The familiar wedding march was playing through speakers and Peyton was deliriously happy. When 

they reached Lucas, Derek gave Peyton's arm to him and whispered in Lucas's ear, "Don't screw it up this time, Luke." Luke just smiled.

The two got through the wedding ceremony with minimal tears. They exchanged vows, which both sounded very similar to "True Love Always" in the end. Jamie handed Lucas the rings and they exchanged rings. "Do you, Lucas Eugene Scott, take Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, to be your lawfully wedded wife…"

Lucas proudly said, "I do."

"And Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, do you take Lucas Eugene Scott to be your lawfully wedded husband…"

Peyton responded with a very proud, "I do."

After the wedding was over, and Lucas and Peyton were announced, "Mr. and Mrs. Lucas Eugene Scott", the reception started.

They did the first dance first. Peyton was worried what song Lucas had picked, since she obviously had no clue about any of this. Nathan stepped up to a microphone, and since they didn't have a DJ, announced, "Will the bride and groom go out onto the dance floor for the first dance?"

Lucas and Peyton glided out onto the floor, and before Mia started singing she said to everyone, but was directing it at Peyton, "I chose this song because it's one of my favorite songs, and Peyton hasn't heard it yet, so I figured she could kill two birds with one stone. She could dance and critique me, all at the same time," then Mia smiled at Peyton and said, "I love you Peyton. You and Luke belong together." Then Mia started singing.

"_I've heard there was a secret chord,_

_David played and it pleased the Lord,_

_But you don't really care for music, do ya?_

_Well, it goes like this; the forth, the fifth,_

_The minor fall, _

_The major lift,_

_The baffled King composing Hallelujah..."_

Peyton stood for a few minutes, not moving. She couldn't believe how great Mia sounded. Lucas then wrapped his arms around Peyton and they danced they treasured first dance. Peyton nuzzled up to Lucas, and inhaled Lucas familiar scent that she had come to love over all these years. Then Luke spoke first and said, "So, Mrs. Scott, how does it feel?"

Peyton giggled and said, "How does what feel?"

"How does it feel to be a Scott?"

Peyton laughed and said, "Well, it feels pretty damn good."

Lucas smiled a smile that reached his eyes. "I was kind of hoping you'd say that."

Peyton and Lucas danced their first dance, and then Haley got up on the makeshift stage. "I'd like to dedicate this song to Peyton and Lucas, obviously, but, not only them. I'd like to dedicate this to Nathan, too. I love all three of you guys."

Haley started singing "Halo".

"_I never promised you a ray of light  
I never promised there'd be sunshine every day  
I'll give you everything I have  
The good the bad_

_Why do you put me on a pedestal?  
I'm so up high that I can't see the ground below  
So help me down you've got it wrong  
I don't belong there_

_One thing is clear  
I wear a halo _

_  
I wear a halo when you look at me  
But standing from here  
You wouldn't say so  
You wouldn't say so if you were me  
And I, I just want to love you  
Oh I, I just want to love you"_

Lucas smiled, happy his best friend was up there singing again. Nathan smiled, happy his wife was back where she deserved to be. Peyton smiled, happy to _finally_ be in Lucas's arms, exactly where she deserved and wanted to be, with no one pissed off that she was there, and happy she was with her loved ones, especially Derek. Brooke smiled, because all her friends were happy, _finally._ Karen smiled because Lucas was _finally_ with who he wanted to be with. Everyone was smiling again, and it seemed like nothing could go wrong.

_**I hope you guys loved this! I know I did!**_

_**And I hope you don't hate me for the slight cliffhanger I left you with.**_

_**Now, I need some help. For the next chapter, what do you guys want? Do you want to see Lucas and Peyton go on a honeymoon? Do you want to see how life is when they start living together? Do you want some drama, and if so, what kind? Help me out! I love you guys, you're great reviewers, but now I want some advice! Let me know!**_

_**Read and review!**_

__

_**xoxo-Sonya**_


	11. Dramatic Starts to Happy Endings

_**Here's chapter 11! Sorry it took so long for me to update, I've been stuck on this for a little bit. Thanks to Heather for all the fabulous help. ;D**_

_**So, here it is! Read and Review and tell me what you think!**_

_**--xox—**_

Peyton and Lucas drove away from the Rivercourt with the sound of their friends cheering in the background. Peyton threw her arms up into the air and yelled, "I just got married!"

Lucas laughed and yelled, "I love Peyton Sawyer!"

They looked at each other and just smiled. Everything was going so great! _What could possibly go wrong?_ Peyton thought.

When they got to Lucas' house, Peyton stepped out of the rental car and Lucas came up to her and picked her up. She threw her arms around his neck and said, "So, are we doing the traditional carry the bride through the doors of your new house thing?"

Lucas laughed and said, "Damn straight."

They walked through the door and Peyton sighed. Thoughts of the night Lucas proposed to Lindsey rushed into her head. Peyton shook her head as if to rid the thoughts form her brain. _What is wrong with me?_ She shrugged it off as temporary insanity. Lucas carried her all the way into his—no, their-- bedroom, and he set her down on the bed. He lay on top of her and started kissing her neck, all the way to her jaw line, and then all the way to her mouth where they kissed passionately. The atmosphere around them was clouded with _so much_ sexual tension that Peyton couldn't handle it. She kissed Lucas roughly until he had to back away to catch his breath, and even then she continued to kiss his neck. They rolled over so Lucas was under her. Lucas moaned as Peyton continued to kiss his neck. Suddenly, Lucas pushed Peyton off of him.

She looked at him in disbelief. "What are you doing?"

Lucas shook his head. "I want you, all of you, and I want everything with you, especially now that we're married. But Peyton, we need to slow down. I know we've done this already, but I _do_ want this to be special."

Peyton flopped onto the bed with a groan. She knew what Lucas was talking about, but she also knew that if they slowed down, she'd have more time to think about things she didn't want to think about.

Lucas noticed an immediate change in Peyton's attitude and he said, "What's the matter? Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't _you_ the one who wanted to wait in Vegas?"

Peyton stood up and said, "Forget it. Just drop it Luke." Peyton thought, _Oh no, please don't let this turn into a fight…_

"No, Peyton. What's up?"

She turned to face Lucas, who was sitting on the bed and she said, "Nothing, it's just… if we weren't moving fast, then I'd have time to think."

Confusion immediately crossed over Lucas's face. "I don't get it Peyton. Think about what?" Lucas asked, slightly frustrated.

Peyton looked down and realized she was still in her wedding dress. "Can I change out of this first and then we can talk?"

Lucas nodded, and Peyton walked into the bathroom with a change of clothes in her hands. She briskly stepped out of her dress and hung it up on the bathroom door. She stared at it and thought to herself, _Now it's back to reality folks. I hope we don't screw it up this time. _Peyton put on a pair of sleep shorts she had just bought and an old t-shirt of Lucas's she had kept after they broke up for the very first time.

Meanwhile, Lucas was getting out of his suit and putting on a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt. Peyton stepped out of the bathroom that was connected to their room, and she leaned against the doorframe. Lucas was sitting on the bed, and he looked up at Peyton. The atmosphere had turned quite chilly and a little less romantic than it had been minutes before. "So Peyton, we obviously have something to talk about, I'm just not sure what it is. You have to help me out here."

Peyton was quiet for a few minutes, and then she blurted out, "Lindsey lived here!"

At the mention of Lindsey's name, Lucas's head whipped around to face Peyton. "What did you say?"

"Lindsey. Lived. Here," Peyton said pausing after every word. "She lived here before me. This was all her's Luke. That bed, you, this room, this bathroom, this house, it was all hers and I can't stand the thought of sleeping where she slept, or you know…" she trailed off.

Lucas picked up and said, "No, actually I don't."

"I can't have sex with you where she had sex with you!" Peyton blurted out, and then immediately regretted her decision. She threw her hand over her mouth as her eyes went as big as saucers. She was assuming Luke and Lindsey had sex, but now, the way Lucas was looking at her, she wasn't so sure. "Oh, my God, Luke, that came out—"

Lucas shook his head as he cut Peyton off. "Wow," was all he said.

Peyton walked over to Lucas and picked up his hand. "I'm sorry. I just figured if I didn't think about it and just _did it_, then I would forget that she was here first," Peyton said with a sad look on her face. "I know I said I'd be fine living here, but the more I thought about it, the more it angered me and scared me and made me sad. I just… I don't think I can stand living in the same place as the woman who almost kept us apart," Peyton finally said.

Lucas nodded. "Okay. Well, we can't buy a house tonight," Luke finally said.

Peyton nodded, too, and said, "I know that, Luke, I just… I can't sleep in this bed with you."

"Peyton, I don't know what to tell you. It's late, and quite frankly, this is a little too sudden for us to make other plans. I want you, _tonight_, but that's not going to happen if we can't sleep in the same _bed._"

Peyton was getting frustrated now. "I understand that, _Lucas_, but, that does not change the fact that I am _not_ sleeping in this bed!" she finished and stormed out of the room.

Lucas stared at the doorway where Peyton had just walked out of. _What the hell just happened?_ Lucas had no idea where that fight had come from. He understood where Peyton was coming from, really he did, but he didn't have the slightest idea for a solution. _I better go find her and figure out what's going on so she doesn't leave._

Lucas walked through the house, into the living room and there she was, sitting on the couch, staring into space. Lucas sat next to her and waited for a few minutes. "So, are you ready for round two?" he joked.

She looked at him and said, "We had our first married couples fight." She stood up and walked over to the window, and then abruptly changing the subject, Peyton said, "I don't know how to make this anymore clear to you, Lucas."

Luke shook his head. "You don't have to make anything clear, Peyt. I under-"

"I just, I can't stand the thought of her 'spirit' or whatever still being around here. It makes my heart break every single time I do. And I understand you chose me. I wouldn't want it any other way, but still…" Peyton said, trailing off, with tears freely falling down her face by now, still not facing Lucas.

By now, Lucas was walking towards Peyton, ready to hug her. He wanted to make everything okay again, but he knew a hug wasn't necessarily going to do that. He just wished it would. Still, he wrapped his arms around Peyton's waist and whispered in her ear, "I understand, and its okay, Peyt. We can go to Haley and Nathan's and stay there, and then look for a house tomorrow."

Peyton nodded. "Okay, let's get out of here please."

Lucas nodded too, and said, "Okay, but let me call Nate or Hales so we don't just show up."

"Okay, I'm going to pack what little I have right now."

Lucas grabbed his phone and dialed Haley's number, hoping she'd still be up. _Ring, ring, ring, come on Hales, pick up… I need you right now…_

Suddenly, Haley picked up. "Hello?" she said.

"Hey Haley, I need a favor."

Twenty minutes later, Lucas and Peyton were pulling into Nathan and Haley's driveway. Peyton was relieved. She felt like Lindsey's ghost was around every corner in Lucas's old house, and she for one couldn't stand it. Haley opened the door and came out to the driveway. Luke had explained why they needed a place to stay, and Haley understood. If Nathan and her had had to stay in one of Nathan's old girlfriends house's, it would be slightly too painful to bear. Haley quickly hugged Peyton, fully understanding why she didn't want to stay in Luke's house. Peyton whispered in Haley's ear, "Thank you, Haley."

She shook her head and said, "No problem."

Haley led the newlywed's to the Pool House which they had unoccupied at the moment. "It's fully furnished, and it even has a little kitchen. I just changed the sheets before you guys came over, and everything's clean, so it should be ready for you. Don't worry about putting us out, you can stay as long as you need," Haley reassured them.

Lucas nodded his thanks, and the couple walked into the Pool House. The first thing Peyton did was hug Luke. "Thank you; you don't even understand how much this means to me."

Luke smiled at Peyton's sudden outburst. The whole ride over, neither had said anything; the air was tense and the silence was deafening. "You're welcome Peyton." The two climbed into bed after their eventful night and quickly fell asleep, with no worries on their minds at all.

**_So, review this one and tell me what you think!_**

_**Also, give me any suggestions you might have for the story, I'd love the help!!**_

_**Thanks guys!**_

_**-xoxo, Sonya**_


	12. Every Inch of You is Bruised

**Okay, here's chapter 12! Sorry it took so long for the last few updates, but it's summer...**

**Anyways, here's chapter 12! Read and review and give me suggestions for the next chapter!**

Oh yeah, Disclaimer: I dont own OTH. Or any of the characters. I dont own the lyrics I used in the beginning, or where I got my title from. Both came from Bruised by Jack's Mannequin, which by the way, is a good song. Listen to it sometime. ;D

**-xoxo-**

_ Hours pass, and she still counts the minutes  
That I am not there, I swear I didn't mean  
For it to feel like this..._  
--Bruised, Jack's Mannequin

* * *

Lucas woke up early the next morning. He hadn't slept well last night because he wasn't in his bed, he guessed. He threw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and walked over to Haley and Nate's. He knocked, but when he noticed Nathan standing at the kitchen counter, he walked in. He slid the French doors open and mumbled a good morning to Nathan. "Hey man, sleep good?"

Luke shook his head. "No," he mumbled again.

"How come?"

Lucas shrugged. "I'm guessing it's because I wasn't in my own house."

Nathan nodded his understanding, and then Haley walked out and said good morning to them both. Nathan kissed his wife and then said his goodbye's, saying he was going for a run. Lucas sat down at the island type table Haley had and lay his head on his crossed arms. "What's wrong?" Haley asked.

Lucas sat up and shrugged. "I didn't sleep so well last night."

"And why is that?"

He shrugged again. "Peyton wants to buy another house," Lucas blurted out.

Haley looked at him weird. "Okay, what's the problem with that?"

Lucas shrugged then said, "I _like_ my house."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Yes, Lucas, but do you-"

Lucas cut her off and said, "Yes. I understand _everything_ Hales. But it doesn't change the fact that I don't know how badly I want to buy a new house."

Haley put her hands up in surrender and said, "Okay. Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning…" she mumbled under her breath.

He glared at her, so Haley threw a sugar packet at his head. This caused him to laugh, and she was glad. Peyton walked in a few minutes after the sugar packet incident. She said her good mornings and then walked over to Haley. She poured herself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter. "So, Hales, have anything done with the CD?"

Haley shrugged. "Sort of. I mean, I want to do this; I'm just having trouble writing things. I get started, but then can't finish anything."

Peyton smiled and said, "Why don't we go to the studio and work on some things. I'm sure I can help."

Haley smiled and then looked at Lucas, then back at Peyton. Lucas was still resting his head on his arms, and Peyton was resisting the urge to look at him. _Great, they fought._ Haley rolled her eyes and whispered to Peyton, "Why don't we go do that soon, and leave Lucas alone. He's grumpy," she smiled again, trying to ease the tension that was obviously in the room.

Peyton nodded. "You go ahead to the studio, I'll meet you there."

Haley nodded, walked by Lucas and patted him on the back, said her goodbyes, and then left.

Peyton decided to break the tension that was obviously present. She didn't know why it was there, but it was. "Where's Jamie?"

"He went with Nathan for his morning run."

Peyton nodded. Lucas obviously wasn't in the mood to talk, and she wasn't going to push him. "I'm going to get a shower."

Lucas gave her a half nod to show her his understanding, she guessed.

When she walked by him towards Haley and Nathan's shower (because the Pool House didn't have one), she threw her hands in the air, her frustration building with every moment Lucas was a jackass. She jumped in the shower and tried to scrub away her frustration with Luke. It didn't work. She got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself, then brushed her unruly curls. She wiped off the mirror with her hand, and then stared at the reflection staring back at her. _Are we really so messed up, we can't even make it through one night together after we're married? _she asked herself. She shook the thought out of her head. She refused to think her and Lucas couldn't get through one tense moment.

-xoxo-

Lucas didn't know what his problem was. He was acting like a jackass, he knew it. But, he didn't know why. He walked over to the coffee maker and poured a cup. All of a sudden, Peyton came running out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around her. She stopped suddenly in the kitchen and said, quite loudly, "What the hell is wrong?"

Lucas looked at her, coffee cup in hand and said, "Excuse me?"

"Why are you acting so… so… weird?" she yelled.

Lucas thought for a minute. Then, he dove right in. _No secrets…_ he thought. "I don't want to buy a new house." He said to her calmly.

She looked at him, dumbfounded for a minute. "What?" she asked more quietly this time.

He shrugged. "I don't want to buy a new house."

"And why is that?"

"Because, Peyton. That's my house. And while you might only think of Lindsey every time were there, guess who I think of." Peyton was afraid to answer because Lucas's face had taken a dark turn, so she didn't. "Keith, Peyton. That was the house my mom lived, so every time I'm in that house, my mom and Lily, or even _you_ Peyton, but never do I think of Lindsey. Sometimes I think of stupid little memories that I had with Keith, even. I don't want to give those up."

Now Peyton felt like the ass. "Luke, I'm sorry. But, I don't think you can honestly tell me you don't think of Lindsey, or you haven't, not even once, while you're there," she said simply and calmly.

Lucas looked down at his feet. He _had_ thought of Lindsey a couple times, but only innocently. He never thought of her if Peyton was in the room, and he never thought of her when he was sleeping in the same bed as Peyton. Sure, he thought of when he proposed to her whenever he walked through the doorway, but then he thought of Peyton and her face and the kiss he had gotten from her moment 

before he proposed. The truth was that every memory Lucas had of Lindsey, Peyton wasn't far behind. He had to tell her this, but Peyton obviously took Lucas's quiet to mean something worse. "I figured. I'm going to go change and then go to the studio. Call me when you decide to tell me what we're going to do," she said, walking out of Haley and Nathan's house towards the Pool House.

Nathan walked in a few minutes later, with Jamie trailing behind. "Uncle Lucas!" the little boy yelled, running towards his uncle. He jumped into Lucas's arms and Luke picked him up.

Jamie ran his hand along the top of Luke's head and asked, "Where's your Mohawk?"

Luke laughed and said, "The days of my Mohawk are long gone."

Jamie nodded. "Where's Aunt Peyton?"

Lucas sighed, setting Jamie down. Sometimes he wished that boy wasn't so smart. "She went somewhere with your mom to do something music oriented." The little boy nodded again and then asked if he could go for a swim.

Nathan nodded. "Sure, but you have to ask your Grandma."

Jamie went in search of Deb. "Nathan, Deb's not here."

Nathan grinned broadly. "I know."

Luke shook his head. "You're evil."

Nate shrugged, then asked, "So, really where is Peyton?"

Lucas sighed loudly and said, "Out in the Pool House, getting ready to go to the studio. She's pissed off at me."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "What'd you do?"

"I didn't say I never thought of Lindsey."

Nathan came up behind his brother and smacked him over the head. "No wonder she's pissed."

"I didn't get to finish though! If I could have told her what I was thinking, she would have understood."

Nathan nodded and said, "Of course she would," with a sarcastic smile on.

"Just shut up," Lucas said, shoving his brother and walking away.

Lucas walked out to the rental car he and Peyton still had yet to return to the Tree Hill Airport. He got in, confused that Peyton hadn't taken it yet. Sure enough, Peyton came out minutes later and said, "What are you doing?"

Lucas sighed. "I was going to take this… somewhere. But, looks like you need it."

Peyton nodded. "Yeah, I do. I can-"

Lucas shook his head cutting her off. "No, its fine, Nathan can take me." Lucas jumped out of the car and handed the keys to Peyton, still feeling the tension between them.

While Lucas was walking away from the car, Peyton said to him, "Hey, Luke?"

He turned around and said, "Yeah?"

Peyton had thought about going up to Lucas and giving him a kiss, but quickly chickened out. "Never mind," she said, jumped in the car, and left.

Lucas walked into Nathan's house. "Hey, Nate? Where are you?"

"Out here!" Nathan yelled from the pool.

Jamie was jumping in the pool, while Nathan was standing in the shallow end. "Hey, can you take me back to my house so I can pick up my car?"

Nathan nodded, pulling himself up out of the pool. "Come on Jamie! We need to bring your Uncle Luke back to his house."

Jamie nodded, getting out of the pool.

Fifteen minutes later, Nathan was pulling into Lucas's driveway. Luke thanked him and said goodbye to his brother and nephew. He got into his car, ready to go to the studio to say something, 

anything to Peyton, and to try and fix what ever the hell they (or he, he wasn't sure) had screwed up already.

_**Okay, I hope you like it! I'm working hard on the next chapter, so it should be up by tomorrow, I hope. If not, it should definitely be up by Tuesday! As always, read and review!**_

_**-xoxo, Sonya**_


	13. Kiss and Make Up Right?

**Okay, so towards the end of this chapter, there's sex. But not graphic at all. I changed the rating on the story for that reason, just so my story doesn't get deleted or anything. Haha, anyways, I hope you guys like this!**

**-xoxo, Sonya**

Peyton was not at the studio with Haley. Lucas was. "Where did she go?"

Haley rolled her eyes. "I'm not helping you out this time. Figure it out on your own." Lucas wasn't sure where Peyton went, but he knew where he wanted to go.

He jumped in his car and drove to the Rivercourt. He wanted to read what Peyton wrote for him again, because it made him smile whenever he looked at or read something she did. He arrived at the Rivercourt, got out, and walked over to the middle of the basketball court. He read aloud, "I'll love you forever," one of the lines Peyton had painted. He smiled. "I'll love you forever too, Peyton," he whispered to himself. Then, unexpectedly, Lucas thought of something. "The cemetery," he said aloud, to no one in particular.

It was like Peyton was sending him signals of where she was, because when he pulled in, there she was, sitting at her mom's grave. He got out and walked over to Keith's grave. "Hey Keith. I'm having some trouble with this growing up thing. I don't want to give up my, _our_ house. I grew up in that house. Lily grew up in that house. It's not fair that I should have to give it up." He paused for a minute, looking around to see if Peyton was still there. She was.

-xoxo-

"Hi mom. So, we have some catching up to do," Peyton said as she sat down on the ground. "Well, first, Luke and I got married." She smiled, wondering what her mom would say if she were here. "We finally did it, mom," she whispered, as if she didn't want anyone to hear. "But, I don't want to live in his house. There are too many _bad_ memories there! And yet, he doesn't want to live anywhere else." Peyton thought for a minute then said, "I know. We're being immature. Okay, mom, I'm going. Lucas got 

here a few minutes ago and thinks I don't notice him," Peyton laughed. She stood up, touched the corner of her mom's gravestone and said, "Bye mom," then walked over to where Lucas was.

-xoxo-

"Hey Luke," Peyton said to Lucas. Then she said, "Hi, Keith," which causes Lucas to smile. Peyton took a seat next to Lucas and said, "You see Keith, I don't want to lose this boy I'm absolutely in love with, but I don't want to live in your house. It haunts me," she said, pausing to look at Lucas.

He spoke up and said, "Yeah, but Keith, I love this girl more than anything, and now that we're married we should be able to live in a house, even if it has memories of my old girlfriend in it."

"See Keith, this boy doesn't understand that even though I realize we love each other, it doesn't mean the thought of his _ex-fiancée_

doesn't scare me, or make me think he doesn't think of her." Peyton rolled her eyes. "Luke can we go to your house and talk to _each other_ instead of talking through Keith? You know I love Keith too, but this seems a tad bit immature."

Lucas smiled. He and Peyton said goodbye to Keith, then got into their respective cars and met at Luke's house.

When they walked into the kitchen and sat down across from each other, at first they didn't say anything. Lucas broke the silence and said, "I _do_ understand, Peyton. You have to realize that I _do _understand."

Peyton nodded. "I know you do Luke. That doesn't change the fact that I don't want to sleep in that bed."

Lucas threw his hands in the air, frustrated already. "What if we bought a new bed then?"

Peyton shrugged. "I guess…" she trailed off.

Lucas sighed. "Peyton, help me out here. You don't want to live here, right? Then, the only solution I can find is a new house, which I don't want. How would you feel about a new bed? Tell me honestly here, babe, because lying won't get us very far."

Peyton nodded, then took a deep breath and said, "I was being selfish." Lucas looked confused, so Peyton continued. "I didn't want to live here and that was it. _I_ didn't want to live here because it made me think of Lindsey. That's not fair to you, though. I mean, if you don't even think of Lindsey, then I shouldn't either, right? Right. So, here's my proposition."

Lucas smiled at the fact that Peyton was acting so grown up, and also at the fact that she was kind of rambling, which made her seem even more cute. "Okay, what's your proposition?"

"We buy a new bed. Then, we redo your bedroom, just for fun." She paused for a minute and then said, "That's all," she finished with a half smile, then said, "At least for right now. I do want to buy a house with you Luke. But, for now, I'll compromise on living here."

Lucas smiled back. "Well, Mrs. Scott, I'd say we just fixed our first marriage problem!" he said, while getting up and walking over to Peyton. She stood up and stuck her hand out for Lucas to grab. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her.

"So, you don't care if we buy a new bed?"

"Care? Are you kidding me? Never. I just… you have to understand-"

Peyton cut him off and said, "I do, Luke, I really do. I never _didn't_ understand, I just got… pissed, I guess. It wasn't very 'grown-up' of me, I guess." She smiled then got a little more serious. "Luke we can't just run away from each other whenever we fight. I refuse to be those kind of people, okay?"

Lucas nodded and said, "Agreed."

Peyton spoke again and said, "Lucas, promise me we won't become those people, okay?"

Lucas nodded, then kissed Peyton and said, "I promise, Peyton." Then he added, "I want to buy a house with you too, somewhere where we can make memories of our own. But for now, I just… want to live here a little longer," he smiled at Peyton, and she smiled back. Lucas picked Peyton up, and twirled her around in the air, kissing her all the while. He carried her back to his bedroom, still kissing her. He paused in the doorway and said, "Do you want…?" he asked her, trailing off.

She nodded, kissing him to show him just how much she wanted to.

Lucas smiled a huge smile, and carried her over to his bed. He lay her down, slowly pulling the shirt she had on off over her head. He trailed kisses from her bellybutton all the way up to her neck, stopping to place several more there, and then tracing kisses up her jaw line. Peyton stopped him to star at his piercing blue eyes and she smiled, causing him to smile. She said, "Lucas, I know I seem like a crazy bitch for not wanting to be with you yesterday, but I don't know…" she trailed off.

Lucas put his finger on her lips, causing her to shut up. "I don't think you're a bitch. Crazy, maybe, but not a bitch." He smirked, and then said, "I love you Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, and I want you more than ever. But only if you're ready."

"I love you too, Lucas Eugene Scott, and oh my God, am I ever ready," she smiled at him.

Lucas kissed her passionately. Peyton deepened the kiss and pulled Luke's shirt off him. They flipped over and it was Peyton's turn to tease him. She kissed his neck, then trailed kisses down to his yummy six pack. He moaned, causing Peyton to giggle, which not only amazed Lucas, but it amazed her too. She was _so_ not the giggly type. But that's what Lucas did to her. He turned her into the best version of herself she could possibly be, and Peyton did the same to him. She felt like she should tell him this, but she didn't want to tease Lucas any longer.

They made love for what seemed like the first time since the Honey grove Prom. It was absolutely perfect. While Peyton lay there asleep, Lucas just watched her sleep. He knew it would catch up to him and bite him in the ass the next morning, but he didn't care. Right now, he was exactly where he wanted to be.

**Reviews make my world happy!**

**;D**

**-xoxo, Sonya**


	14. My Heart is Yours to Fill or Burst

**Chapter 14! Yay! I'm getting real far on this story, and now I'm thinking about maybe ending soon and then doing a sequel or something? I don't know. Leave me reviews and tell me what you think!**

**Oh yeah, Disclaimer: I don't own OTH or anything. I don't own "Hands Down" by Dashboard COnfessional, which is where the lyrics are from. The title is too. Enjoy! :**

**-xoxo,Sonya**

-xoxo-

Peyton woke up the next morning and knew she had to get ready for work. Mia was coming into town for a break from her tour, and Peyton wanted to get to the studio before Mia. She stayed in the bed and lay there for a few minutes. After ten minutes, Peyton dragged herself out of bed and climbed in the shower. A half an hour later, she was writing a note for Lucas telling him where she was going and to have him call her.

On her drive over to the studio, Peyton turned on the radio. An old Dashboard Confessional song poured through the radio, making her smile.

_My hopes are so high,  
that your kiss might kill me.  
So won't you kill me,  
so I die happy._

_My heart is yours to fill or burst,  
to break or bury,  
or wear as jewelry,  
which ever you prefer._

Listening to the song she listened to so long ago made her think of her first meeting with Lucas. She was driving through Tree Hill and was searching for a CD while listening to this song. She wasn't paying attention and almost hit a younger Lucas, who was on a run, dribbling a basketball and listening to his iPod. She smiled at the distant memory, the pulled into the parking lot of the Studio.

She unlocked the door and walked into the studio, finding Mia was already there, practicing a song. She had obviously just started because she was barely into the first verse.

"_Well it goes like this  
The fourth, the fifth,_

_The minor fall and the major lift  
The baffled king composing Hallelujah"_

Peyton loved to listen to Mia sing. She was so awesome at it. When Mia finished she came out of the recording booth and ran over to Peyton and gave her a hug. "So, how's married life treating you?"

Peyton shrugged, and then couldn't hide her smile anymore. "It's better than I ever thought it'd be."

Mia smiled at the blonde girl and laughed. "I'm happy for you. But, we need to get this song recorded!"

Peyton laughed at the younger girl's determination. "Alright rock star, get in that booth and let's start this thing!"

-xoxo-

An hour after Peyton left, Lucas stirred, wondering where his new wife went. He walked into the kitchen and noticed the note. She went to the studio. Lucas sighed. _Back to reality, which means back to work,_ he thought. He didn't want to have to come in contact with Lindsey, but he knew he had to at some point. She was his editor, and he didn't have a choice. So, after Lucas made some breakfast (cereal, he wasn't much of a cook) and got a shower, he called Lindsey. She answered on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, Lindsey, it's me."

"Hi Luke. What do you need?"

He chuckled. It was sort of an angry chuckle. He was amazed Lindsey could act so caring, and yet be so hurtful. He shook his head. _Whoa, where did that come from?_ He thought. He was over Lindsey, so over her, but the thought of her leaving him at the alter were still a sore spot for him. "Well, I figured we needed to work on the idea of my book. You get my dedication?"

She sighed. Yes, she got his dedication. It hurt her every time she read it. It _screamed_ Lucas and Peyton, and Lindsey wasn't ready to deal with that. She loved Lucas, and the idea of him with someone else did hurt, even though she knew they were never really together, but she pushed it aside. "Yes, I did. And no, we don't. I got your dedication, and your books finished Lucas. I've been working on editing it and I figured I could e-mail the edited version to you now?" she asked him, ready to be done with the whole editor relationship she had with Lucas.

"Okay, you e-mail it, I'll read it, and then edit what I think needs to be changed."

Lindsey nodded. Their conversation had taken an extreme business like tone, and she figured what she said next wouldn't be good, but she did it anyways. "I know you got my message Luke, but-"

Lucas cut her off. He had gotten the message, and didn't want to talk about it. He already told Lindsey everything she deserved to hear. "Yeah, I did." Luke thought for a minute, and then continued. "It wasn't fair, Lindsey. I propose. I say 'I do'. I say 'I miss you'. I did everything first, but I never got anything in return. I'm sorry Lindsey, but I'm with Peyton."

She sighed. "I figured. I mean, I did tell you to go after her, right?" She chuckled, then sighed, considering the situation at hand wasn't funny. "But, Lucas, the statement still holds truth. I _do_ miss you, every single day."

Lucas sighed. "Yeah, I know. I guess I miss you too, Lindsey."

And guess who was standing in Lucas's doorway when he decided to say that?

Haley was shocked. She wanted to say something. She wanted to make a noise so her presence was known. She cleared her throat, and Lucas spun around. "Uh, I got to go, Lindsey. I'll read the e-mail 

and get back to you." Then he hung up, without hearing Lindsey's goodbye. "Haley! How… how…" he stuttered, not sure he wanted to hear the answer to the question he was trying to ask.

"How much did I hear?"

He nodded.

"Enough to make me want to smack you upside the head a bazillion times!" she yelled at him.

He put his hands up in defense and said, "Okay, to my defense-"

Haley cut him off. "No! Lucas, you don't get to defend yourself right now. I'm not going to say anything to Peyton, _yet._ If you don't I will, and please don't make me be the bearer of bad news, okay?"

He sighed. "Okay. But, Hales, listen okay? She left me a message that said she missed me, because-"

Haley cut him off again. "No, Luke, don't explain it to me. Just tell Peyton, okay?" At that moment, Lucas's eye widened, and Haley's face paled. She knew who was behind her. She turned around slowly and saw the one and only person she didn't want to see at the moment.

"Tell me what?" Peyton asked, a small smile starting to disappear from her face.

**Sorry to leave you with such a cliffhanger, but I thought it'd be good to stop here!**

**I'm working on the next chapter now, so it should be up by the end of the day. Reviews make me type faster…! :**

**-xoxo, Sonya**


	15. Ignorance is Bliss

**Okay, here's chapter 15! Read and review please! All my reviewers, you guys are rock stars, seriosuly. :**

**-xoxo, Sonya**

-xoxo-

Peyton started to get worried with the way Lucas and Haley were looking at her. Again she said, "Lucas, tell me what?"

Haley decided to bolt. "I'll see you later, guys. Bye Peyton!" and she was gone.

Peyton slowly walked over to Lucas. "Luke, seriously, you're scaring me. Tell me what?"

Lucas gulped and looked at the ceiling. "Okay, before you get pissed, just hear me out."

Peyton nodded slowly. "Okay."

Lucas thought for a minute, almost deciding to not tell Peyton, not yet anyways. He quickly changed his mind, figured if he hid his "secret", it would make it seem even worse. "Lindsey… no, scratch that. I called Lindsey, to _talk about my book," _he emphasized, and then continued. "She said it was done. Then she told me she missed me." Lucas looked down form the ceiling to see what Peyton's reaction was, but she looked emotionless. "I told her I missed her too. But, hear me out Peyton, I only-"

Peyton backed up. "No. Stop, please." She begged him. She didn't want to hear this, not right now. She only came home to grab a key to one of the many closets in the studio/office Peyton had. Mia said she needed to get into one of them, to get a sheet of music or something, but Peyton didn't have the key. She ran home to get it when she walked in on Haley telling Lucas to tell her. She wasn't expecting it to involve Lindsey, or Lucas missing Lindsey, but, well, there it was. "I just need to grab a key…" she trailed off. "I need to get back to the studio. Uhm…" she trailed off again, not able to speak full, coherent sentences. "I'll see you later, or something," she finished, leaving the house she now _knew_ was bad luck.

-xoxo-

Lucas was pissed. He threw his cell phone against the wall, watching it smash into a few too many pieces. No one was listening to him. Haley "accused" him of cheating, in more or less words, and Peyton just walked away. He decided reading the edited version of his story might calm him down, so he 

did just that. He walked over to his laptop and turned it on, opening up his email. Lindsey had sent the story, and he opened it. He started reading.

Two hours later, Lucas was half way through the story, and he was happy with it. He didn't finish reading it, assuming whatever changes Lindsey made were as good as the other ones he noticed, so he sent her an email telling her the book was good; in his opinion it was probably done, so he told her so. He also told her he wanted a new editor, seeing as whenever they came in contact it ended badly.

He clicked the send button, and minutes later, a _ding_ sounded, letting him know someone was online. He looked, and it was Lindsey. He started typing.

_LucasScott: Did you get my email?_

_LindseyStrauss: Yes._

_LucasScott: And?_

_LindseyStrauss: I agree. I can't be your editor anymore, Lucas. It's too hard. I can't read another one of your books that is Peyton centric. I'm happy for you, but that doesn't mean I can push _my_ feelings aside and act like I never cared, okay?_

Luke sat there, staring at his computer for a minute. He was a little surprised it was this easy. He expected Lindsey to at least argue with him a little, saying she couldn't just _drop_ being his editor. But, essentially, that's exactly what she did. Lucas was happy, but conflicted.

_LindseyStrauss: So?_

_LucasScott: Okay. I wasn't really expecting it to be this easy, but… okay._

_LindseyStrauss: Yeah. Okay. Good luck Lucas._

_LucasScott: With what?_

_LindseyStrauss: Everything. Peyton, your career, your future. Just, good luck in life, Luke._

Lucas smiled, glad they were ending on a happy note.

_LucasScott: Good luck to you too, Lindsey. I hope you find someone who isn't hung up on their ex, still. ;)_

_LindseyStrauss: Too soon, Luke._

Lucas winced.

_LucasScott: Okay, sorry. Good luck and I hope you find someone who makes you happy._

_LindseyStrauss: Thanks Lucas. Good bye_

_LucasScott: Bye Lindsey._

**LindseyStrauss is now offline.**

Lucas sighed. He was glad things with Lindsey and he ended well, but he still felt bad. He hoped she did well in life and achieved everything she wanted, because she was a nice girl, who obviously wanted more than Lucas could give her. He shook his head and stood up. He walked over to his cell phone, and picked it up. It was cracked across the screen, but it could be fixed. He hoped.

Lucas didn't know what to do next. Go see Peyton? Let her wait it out? He didn't know, which his biggest screw up would probably be doing nothing. So, he grabbed his keys and headed out.

-xoxo-

Peyton stood in the studio, while Mia was in the recording booth, recording Hallelujah. Mia noticed something was up when Peyton got back, but she didn't push it. Listening to the slow song, it made tears well in Peyton's eyes. It wasn't a sad song, necessarily, it was just the slowness plus the blow to the stomach sort of speak she received from Lucas just kind of built up. Mia noticed Peyton crying into her hand and instantly jumped up and walked out of the recording booth. "Peyton, what's wrong?"

Peyton looked up and sniffed. "Nothing, it's just… Lucas and… Lindsey." She started crying again. Mia walked over to Peyton and hugged her.

"Peyton, you aren't speaking full sentences. Now, what happened from the time you went home to get the key to the time you came back?"

Peyton sighed and told Mia what happened. "I mean, I trust Luke, okay? But, still. The idea of Lindsey just makes me want to throw things."

Mia nodded. "I understand… kind of. I understand how you trust Luke. But, why do you hate Lindsey so much?"

Peyton let out another huge sigh. "I don't hate her! I just… it's Lucas' _ex-fiancée._ How can I not want to throw things whenever she shows up or calls?" Mia nodded. "And plus, she needs to move on! She said no to Lucas, not the other way around!"

Mia replied with, "Look who's talking."

Peyton looked confused. "What?"

"Peyton, you said no to Lucas, and you didn't move on. It's like, pot meet kettle, you know?"

Peyton got frustrated. "No! I never said no! So, it's different."

Mia chuckled. "Okay. But, Peyton did you ever find out the whole story?"

Peyton looked smug and said, "No. But to my credit, I didn't find out half the story either, and I didn't start yelling or anything. I told him to stop, and I left." She shrugged and said, "I should have waited and let him talk to me, right?"

Mia laughed. "Right, but Peyton, you don't have to wait… look who's here," she sing-songed. "I'm going to go. Good luck!" she said, patting Peyton on the shoulder and walking out.

Peyton looked up and was afraid she was going to see Lucas, and she was right, but behind him was Haley, pushing him in. "Hi Peyton! Lucas is being stubborn and was like, afraid to walk in here. I was on my way over to see if you were okay, when I saw him standing in front of the door. So, I gave him a little push." She pushed Lucas to emphasize her point. "I'm going to lock this door and neither of you are coming out until you talk. You need to find a happy medium to rest on. When you're married, you can't run away from each other. So, here you are, not running away. Good luck!" she yelled, as she walked out the door and locked it.

Lucas let out a sigh. "Peyton, would you like to listen to the whole story this time, or not?"

She looked at him like he grew an extra head. "Excuse me?" she said, standing form her chair.

"You ran out before I could get the whole story out."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, Mr. Drama King, mind finishing your story then? I'd love to hear it."

"I called Lindsey. I knew I needed to work on my book, so I called her, _as my editor._ Peyton, she said it was done. My books done," Lucas said with a small, hopeful smile. "Then, after a few silent minutes, she spoke up and said, 'I miss you Lucas.' What was I supposed to say? I did care for her, therefore yes, I sort of miss her. But-"

"No, Lucas. She's an ex. Therefore, no, you shouldn't miss her!" Peyton yelled.

"Peyton, you're being extremely irrational here! Just because she's my ex doesn't mean my feelings that I once had for her completely drop off the face of this earth!" Lucas yelled back.

Peyton shook her head. "No, Lucas. They don't drop off the face of this earth, you just… I don't even know, Luke," Peyton said, pushing her hands through her hair, frustrated she couldn't think of the right words.

"Peyton. I chose you. We've been through this. I don't love Lindsey, it's just, she is an ex. I almost married her for God's sake!"

Peyton nodded. "I know," Peyton said, almost mimicking the voice she had when Lucas told her "it still hurts".

Luke walked over to her, giving her a hug. "I love you, Peyton."

"I love you too Lucas. But, can you do one thing for me?"

"What?"

"Get a new editor."

Lucas chuckled. "Already done, babe."

**Okay, I hoped you liked it! I was thinking about doing a time jump, like a month or so for the next chapter. Let me know what you guys want!**

**And remember, your reviews keep me typing!**

**:**

**-xoxo, Sonya**


	16. People Always Leave But They Came Back

Peyton was lying in the newly purchased bed Lucas and she had bought. She was staring at some of the art murals she had painted on the wall. One said, "People always leave." It was from her original drawing of a stoplight. All four walls were painted red, a deep red that made her think of home. Underneath "People always leave," she had added in sloppier letters, "But this time, they stayed." She smiled at the memory of painting the bedroom. It was a few weeks after the Lindsey incident. Peyton decided on red, because it reminded her of home. Lucas promptly agreed, because as he said, he had had some good times in Peyton's old bedroom, with a wink.

Each wall held another mural. Some were big versions of her old stuff; others were collages of new and old stuff combined. The door was painted black. On it in fancy white letters, it read "True love Always". It made Peyton smile. It was just a silly little reminder whenever either one needed it. Above the door, in small black letters, it read, "Where are you now?" Peyton put that there for Ellie and Anna. She wondered almost everyday when she looked above that door where they were. It made her smile that she had put a reminder just for them there. For Lucas, it reminded him of Keith, which made Peyton happy.

It was so Peyton and Lucas, it was almost funny. Lucas stood up form his desk in the corner, where he had been all the while Peyton was reminiscing. "Hey there Blondie, ready for bed?"

She smirked at him. "Sure, Broody." _If he can use nicknames, I can too!_ She thought to herself.

Lucas climbed into bed and looked at her. He smiled and said, "I love you Peyton, you know that?"

She giggled a little and said, "Yep, but only because you tell me every single hour of every single day. But of course, I wouldn't have it any other way."

It had been a month since the Lindsey incident, and things couldn't have been better with the two. They had their occasional fights and disagreements, but it always ended fine. Peyton wouldn't have it any other way.

"So, how's the new book coming?"

Lucas shrugged. "I don't know. It's good. Lilly says I'm doing fine and I should stop worrying so much." Peyton smiled at that. Lilly-Anne, Lucas' new editor, was a forty something, English accent sporting, good hearted, women. She was like a mother figure, and Peyton was happy with that. She hated to think she was insecure, but dammit, she was, if only the tiniest bit. Luke's new editor was perfect. Like a mother, she pushed him and critiqued him when necessary, and complimented his work when he thought it wasn't good enough.

"She's right, Luke. The new book is going to be amazing, I'm sure."

Lucas chuckled. "How do you know? You haven't even read it yet!"

"Because it's you, Luke. And if it's coming form you, I know it's going to be good."

Lucas smiled. He reached over and kissed Peyton. They started to get carried away, and Peyton pulled away. She smiled at Lucas, feeling bad for always pulling away from him like that, but he knew why she did it. There was no explanation needed.

He knew that the last time they did this, it ended fine, but something bad _did_ end up happening. Lucas knew how Peyton's mind worked, and he knew that was why she pulled away. He was fine with that though. In time she would be okay. And this time, he was willing to wait. He smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead. "Night Peyton."

"Night Luke. Love you."

Before long, Lucas was asleep. Peyton liked to be the last one to fall asleep, so she could just watch Lucas sleep for a little bit. Suddenly she felt like she had something to tell Lucas. _It can wait until morning,_ she thought. So she lay down, pulling Luke's arms around her waist a little tighter, and she fell asleep.

-xoxo-

The next morning, Lucas was the first one up. He walked into the kitchen and started some coffee. Then, he pulled a Pop Tart package out of the box and popped it into the toaster. Peyton stirred in bed, smelling the smell of her favorite Pop Tarts, cinnamon bun, and her favorite coffee, hazelnut. She slowly dragged herself into the kitchen and smiled at Lucas. "Hey there, sleepy," he said to her.

"Hi," she said, running (almost) for the coffee pot. If she didn't get coffee in the morning, she was not a happy person.

Lucas, of course, knew this. So when she grabbed the empty coffee pot and turned towards Lucas ready to ask him why there was no damn coffee, she smiled at the outstretched hand that held a nice big cup of her favorite brew. "Thank you," she said sweetly. He looked up at her and rolled his eyes. She just laughed and took a seat at the counter.

Lucas looked deep in thought. Suddenly, he took a deep breath and said, "Peyton, we need to talk."

Peyton's head snapped up form the paper she was reading. She had a shocked expression on her face, as she said, "What?"

"We need to talk. I've been thinking and, well, I know we haven't been married that long, but, I love you. And I've been thinking about maybe, you know… kids?"

Peyton almost spit out the coffee she was drinking. "WHAT?!" she yelled.

Luke grimaced. He knew she wanted kids, and he also knew this whole conversation was… sudden. "Sorry this is kind of sudden, but I needed to tell you." After a few painfully quiet minutes, Luke said, "Peyton? Say something, please."

She gulped and said, "Well, I want kids, Lucas, I do. But shouldn't we wait, or something? I don't want to jump into kids right away, you know?"

Lucas nodded. "I know, but when you think about it, Haley's album is completed. Mia's still on tour, and when she's not she's either with you _or_ Haley. So, Haley could take care of the label, you know 

she could. And my books almost done. It's just… I know you want kids Peyt, and I do too. I want kids with _you_. But, I understand if you want to wait."

She looked at him, and smiled. "Okay, let's think about it. As much as I'd like to jump into bed with you right now, we should definitely think about it."

Lucas smiled and nodded.

-xoxo-

This time, Peyton knew Lucas was willing to wait for her, no matter what it involved. Maybe that's why Peyton decided she wanted a child with Lucas. Maybe it was the fact that seeing Lucas with Jamie and even baby Angie made Peyton smile. Maybe Peyton was just ready to be a mom. Either way, she wanted to have kids. So, that's why, a week later, Peyton and Lucas tried for a child.

The first time, Peyton wasn't "ovulating" as the doctor told her. He told them to take home a do it yourself Ovulation test (Okay, I'll be honest. I'm pretty sure I made up the whole do it yourself test thing, but I don't care. Just go with it ;) ), and in a week, Peyton was ready. Lucas and Peyton were going to have a child… or so they hoped…

-xoxo-

**Hope you guys like it! Review please!!**

**-xoxo, Sonya**


	17. One Freakin' Month

**Okay, this is the second to last chapter! The story's almost done! Yippee! jumps into the air, clapping hands Well, now that that's out of the way…**

**:**

**I hope you guys are as excited to almost have this story done as I am. Don't be too sad, ha-ha, because I'm working on a new OTH story, so be excited! :**

**Okay, here it is!**

-xoxo-

Peyton walked into the doctor's office ready for him to tell her she was in fact, pregnant. If she wasn't, she was pretty sure she was going to shoot someone. Lucas and she had been "trying" for one freakin' month. Peyton was grumpy, and Lucas was grumpier from Peyton's grumpiness, so being told she didn't have to "try" anymore would make Peyton ecstatic.

Meanwhile, Lucas was sitting in Nate and Haley's house with Nate. "Dude, what is your problem?"

Lucas groaned and looked at him with a tired expression. "One month, man. It's been a long one month."

Nathan laughed and said, "That's how it is, man, that's how it is."

Lucas shook his head. "All I'm saying is Peyton better be pregnant today, or I'm going to shoot myself."

Nathan laughed again and said, "I know, dude. Lucky me, Hales and I weren't exactly 'trying' for Jamie, but I do feel for you."

Lucas shook his head. "I mean, I want a kid, I really do. But are you kidding me? This is more work than… than… I don't even know!"

"I know, bro, I know. When's Peyton going to be home?"

Lucas shrugged. "I don't know. Honestly? I'm not sure I want to know."

Nathan laughed, while walking to go get Jamie so he could go for a run.

-xoxo-

One hour later, Peyton's on her way home. Lucas was sitting at Haley's kitchen island with his laptop in front of him. He was trying to write, but the idea of Peyton arriving home was much easier to think about. Haley was sitting next to him with a cup of coffee in her hands. "Lucas," she growled at him.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Your foot tapping is making me want to smack you."

Lucas looked down to see that his foot was indeed tapping furiously. He apologized, and then checked his phone to see if Peyton had tried to call. She hadn't.

Ten minutes later, Peyton pulled into Haley's because that was where she left Lucas when she went to the doctor. She went tearing into the house and swung open the door. The first thing she said, or rather, screamed, was "I'm pregnant!" Lucas looked at her shocked, while Haley jumped up to congratulate her friend.

"Peyton, that's awesome!" Both girls jumped up and down, and then Haley went to call Brooke to tell her to get over there.

Peyton walked over to Lucas, who was still shocked. "Babe? Are you okay?" Peyton asked, slightly worried.

Suddenly, Lucas was knocked out of his shock, and he embraced Peyton in a giant hug. "We're going to be parents," he whispered into Peyton's ear.

Peyton grinned from ear to ear and said, with small tears slipping down her cheeks, "I know."

-xoxo-

Brooke arrived in five minutes, flat. She came bursting into Haley and Nate's house and said, "Are you…?" trailing off, directing her question at Peyton.

Peyton jumped up from her seat on the couch, where she was talking to Haley about names, and ran over to Brooke. Brooke got her answer when Peyton hugged her. "I'm going to be an aunt!" Brooke yelled, and Peyton laughed. All three girls took their seats on the couch and started discussing names. Lucas and Nathan, meanwhile, were outside with Jamie, shooting some hoops.

Peyton kept thinking, "I'm going to be a mom with the guy I've only envisioned having babies with."

Lucas, meanwhile, was thinking, "I'm going to be a dad with the most amazing girl ever."

After their thoughts, both continued their conversations with their respective friends.

"So, is it a girl?" was the first thing Brooke asked.

Peyton laughed. "I don't know yet, Brooke. It's kind of early."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you aren't going to find out the sex until its born, are you?"

Peyton just shrugged. "I don't know yet, Brooke. Maybe. It all is going to kind of depend, you know?"

Haley nodded. "I know what you mean."

Just then, all three boys walked in. Nathan walked over to Haley and sat on the arm of the chair she was in. Lucas squished himself in between Brooke and Peyton, putting his arm around Peyton, and Jamie jumped up into Brooke's lap. "So, should we go out and celebrate?" Brooke suggested.

Everyone shrugged. Peyton just beamed. "I would, but Lucas and I," she smiled at her husband, "Have a few people to talk to about our new little arrangement."

Lucas and Peyton said their goodbyes, and then went on their way.

-xoxo-

"Peyton, who do we have to tell?" Lucas asked.

"Well, for one, your mom, for two, my mom and Ellie, and for three, Keith. Good enough for you?"

Lucas smiled. "Yes, _hunny._"

She smirked and playfully smacked his shoulder. "Funny, _dear._"

Twenty minutes later, Lucas and Peyton were pulling into the Tree Hill cemetery. "Who should we tell first?" Peyton asked

"Keith?" Lucas suggested, and Peyton agreed. The happy couple slowly made their way over to Keith's grave, entwined in each others arms. "Hi Keith," Lucas said.

Peyton then said, "Hi Keith, long time no see, ay?" she joked, considering the two had been there a month ago.

"So, Keith, we have some news. Well… Peyton's pregnant!" Lucas exclaimed, feeling a little weird to be talking to a tombstone, but then the feeling quickly passed.

Peyton smiled at Lucas' enthusiasm. "We wanted to inform you first, so you should feel special Keith. You were the first to be told, next to Brooke, Haley, and Nathan," she laughed.

Peyton got up so Lucas could have a few minutes with his uncle, and she made her way over to her mom's grave. "Hi mom," she said with a smile. "Well, guess what! Your little girl's pregnant!" she laughed, wondering how shocked her mom's face would be if she were here. Lucas was still talking to Keith, so Peyton spent a few more minutes telling her mom she loved her and missed her everyday. Then she walked over to Ellie's grave and said, "Hi Ellie. I miss you, and I wish you could actually _be_ here when I tell you this, but this will have to do. Well, I'm pregnant!" she exclaimed. "You remember Lucas? Well, he's finally making me smile again, and now, well, after getting married, which is for another visit, I'm finally pregnant." She continued rambling on, and then finished up. "I miss you Ellie. I love you, and hope you and my mom are watching me right now. I love you both so much," she whispered, and then walked over towards Luke.

Lucas had finished saying his goodbye's to Keith, and was standing by the car. Peyton walked over and hugged him, whispering in his ear, "I'm pregnant. We're going to be parents," excitedly.

Lucas just nodded, smiling and said, "I know, Peyton, I know."

**So I hope you guys liked it! Review please!**

**-xoxo, Sonya**


	18. Nine Months of Pure HellEpilogue

**So here it is… the last chapter! .Tear. Ha-hah, but not really, because I'm working on another OTH story. So watch for that, it should be up soon. I hope you guys liked this. Review with your thoughts, good or bad. Thanks to all my readers and reviewers, you guys kept this story going!**

**So, here it is!**

**-xoxo, Sonya**

Nine months. Nine months of pure hell. Nine months of late night cravings, cranky days, mood swings, and swollen ankles. It was pure hell.

For the first three months, it wasn't too bad. Peyton's belly swelled and you could actually tell she was pregnant. Everywhere she went, people congratulated her, and she actually enjoyed it, a lot. She wasn't too cranky. Haley was surprised. When she was pregnant, she was cranky in the first three weeks, let alone three _months._ But Peyton was a fighter, and Lucas knew she would do extremely well. After her third check up, though, everything went down hill.

Every month, Peyton would go for a check up. So far, all they did was check the baby with the ultrasound machine and do a few simple tests. But, on this third check up, Peyton was given some news she did _not _want to hear. "You must stop working, Peyton. Your work is too stressful, and since this is your first child, complications are easier to come by and a greater risk."

Peyton was shocked. "Excuse me?"

The doctor, Dr. Freeman, said, "I'm sorry, Peyton but-"

Peyton shook her head. "My friend Haley went to _school_ until the _day of_ her child birth! You can't tell me I have to stop _living_ basically when I'm only three months along!" she said, her voice getting higher and higher.

Dr. Freeman shook his head. "I'm sorry Peyton. That's the way it is for now. I'd like you to take a month off."

"There's something you aren't telling me," she accused the doctor.

"Well, sort of. It's nothing to worry about, and this is just standard precaution for new mothers when we get a test saying what yours did. Nothing bad is going to happen, as long as you take it easy, okay?"

Peyton sulked, but said, "Okay."

The doctor gave her a list of things she couldn't do and his number if she had any questions. She thanked him and left.

The next month was hell. Peyton was grumpy because she couldn't work. She was fighting anyone who tried to help, and the only one who knew how to deal with it was Luke (Thank god). She was grumpy, so he'd tell her a joke or something to make her smile. If she craved something, he'd get it. If her feet were swollen, he'd rub them, or prop them up. He felt bad she couldn't work (which it turned out she had to stop working for three months, up until her six month check up), so he tried to do everything he could to help. Haley would come over with pregnancy advice, and then sing Peyton her new song she had thought of. It wasn't working, per se; it was more just listening to music.

It wasn't until May 26, 2009 that Peyton gave birth.

She woke up at two in the morning with a wet bed underneath her. She smacked Lucas and said, "Wake up!"

He looked at her, and by the panicked look, he knew it was time. He leaped out of bed and threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He grabbed the overnight bag Haley had suggested they pack when it was closer to her due date, and helped her out of bed. He drove like a smart maniac, which doesn't make any sense, but was the only way to describe how he was driving, to Tree Hill Memorial Hospital. Peyton was wheeled away into a delivery room. Lucas quickly called Brooke and told her to call Haley and Nathan, and then he got ready to deliver his child.

Six hours later, Lucas emerged form the delivery room. In his arms was a tiny baby girl; she weighed eight and a quarter pounds, and had bright blue-green eyes with tiny blonde curls on the top of 

her head. Brooke and Haley jumped up form their seats in the waiting room and ran over to Lucas. "Oh my God, Luke, she's gorgeous," Haley cooed.

Luke smiled proudly. "I know."

"What's her name?" Brooke asked after everyone congratulated Luke and asked how Peyton was doing, who was in her private room, waiting for her friends to come see her.

"Anna Elizabeth," Lucas said, more proud than ever, with his blue eyes shining.

"Such a pretty name fore such a pretty girl," Brooke cooed to the baby.

Lucas dragged his friends into the room Peyton was in. Her eyes were open, staring out the window. Nathan was carrying flowers and a balloon that said, "Congratulations!" "We didn't know if it was a girl or boy yet," he explained, and Peyton laughed.

Lucas handed the baby over to Peyton and then climbed onto the bed, lying next to his wife and new born baby. He smiled at Peyton and kissed her forehead. "Anna," Luke whispered to his new daughter. "I think it suits her, don't you?"

Peyton smiled. "I think it fits her perfectly."

Peyton was allowed to go home two days later. Anna was premature, so they watched her for a few days, but when she seemed to be doing fine, they released baby Anna and Peyton to go home. Lucas drove them home, and when Peyton walked through the door, Haley, Brooke, and Karen rushed over to see baby Anna. Karen had come home so she could be there for the birth of her son's daughter. Peyton laughed and said, "I have a strange feeling this baby girl is going to be spoiled out of her mind!"

The three women laughed and just agreed.

After all, who could resist a cute little girl with blonde curls, blue eyes, and big old dimples?

_Epilogue:_

Peyton and Lucas never did move. Lucas loved his old house too much, and Peyton loved that Lucas loved it. She finally forgot all about Lindsey and anything that ever happened between Lucas and her.

Anna Elizabeth was the only child Peyton and Lucas had. They decided one was perfect for them. Haley and Nathan didn't have anymore children either.

Lucas published his third book shortly after Anna was born.

Brooke adopted a little girl from India. Her name was Grace, and Brooke spoiled her rotten.

Peyton and Lucas are still together, which is exactly how it should be. True Love Always, right?

Peyton's record label signed five more hit bands, before becoming a major record label. Lucas is still the Raven's coach. The Raven's have gone to the state championship's three times. They have won two. Mia recorded another hit album, and went platinum. Peyton couldn't have been more proud.

Peyton and Lucas have never forgotten that they do in fact have True Love Always, and don't plan on forgetting it anytime soon.

Anna is a music fiend who loves to read, even though she's only five. She's a broody little girl, but who could expect any less form the two broody blondes?

Clothes over Bros. has only managed to get bigger and bigger for Brooke, and that's exactly how she wants it. She's single (for now) but she's happy. Things with Owen never did really work out, but Brooke has Grace, and right now, that's all that matters. She lives in the same house she did with Peyton. Peyton and Brooke are still the best of friends, and they imagine their little girls will be too.

In the end, everything worked out for the Tree Hill gang. Nathan and Haley are together and happy. Brooke has her little girl. And Peyton and Lucas are together. Right now, they have everything they could ask for, and so much more, that who knows where life will take them? Right now, they're living in the present and loving every second of it.

**Oh my God! It's done! tear!! I'm kind of sad, but extremely happy, because this is my first finished fanfic! Yay! I hope you guys liked it. I know the end is sort of short, and that I threw the epilogue in here too, but I thought it deserved to end, or else I'd get too wordy. So, I hope you liked it. Thanks again to all my loyal readers and reviewers, you guys were my inspiration!!**

**Watch out for my next OTH fanfic that should be posted sometime this week. Thanks everyone! And, for old times sake (ha-ha) review and tell me what you thought of the whole thing!**

**Thanks!**

**-xoxo, Sonya**


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